Roommate
by Seven-Bridges
Summary: Dormlife in East Blue U complicates when Sanji has to share his room with a directionally challenged marimo who tries to get into his bed. ZoSan/SanZo AU
1. Chapter 1

_Hey, everyone!_

_This is finally the story I've been talking about since 'Boundaries'... plot stands now, I've got chapter outlines for 24 chapters (and I think it's going to end up well over 30...) and after about two dozens read-throughs, I'm finally confident enough to post the first chapter :)_

_A few things first: the story plays in a world that's like a mix of the One Piece world and our own... well, it's actually more the One Piece world with a few changes (island locations, new continent) and modern technology._

_The Strawhats are like they were at their first appearance in the manga/anime, same age, same look and there are Devil Fruit powers. In other words: Chopper looks like Chopper, Brook looks like Brook and so on... everything about the world is gonna be explained in the story, though. Just wanted to give you the heads up :)_

_Another thing is that even though I'm calling it a university, East Blue U is more like a mixture of school, college and uni. All ages are accepted, though, and it has a rather high standard._

_I also try to keep the humour in the One Piece style, so you can expect LOTS of crack. Unbelievable, ridiculous crack as well as normal, not so cracky... crack. *cough*_

_Pairings will be Zoro/Sanji (obviously), Law/Kidd, Usopp/Kaya and Ace/mystery man (that one is gonna be a surprise :3)_

_There might be others mentioned but those will be the main pairings._

_And thanks to everyone who has told me his/her favourite couple! You guys helped me a lot to decide! :)_

_Alright, enough of my babbling._

_Hope you'll enjoy the first (rather long) chapter! :)_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece.**_

* * *

**Roommate**

**Chapter 1: The New Boy with the great Bod'**

The sun burned down mercilessly at the small harbour.

Several fisherman made their boats ready to catch their fish for the day as a green-haired man stood near the shore and watched a bunch of seagulls swaying in the sky. His eyes followed as one of them dived down, caught an unsuspecting crab and crushed it between its beak. Tearing his gaze away from the bird, the young man turned to look at the small fisher boats instead, frowning as he spotted a big, rundown sign.

_'Clockwork Harbour'... _that couldn't be right, could it?

Frown still in place, the young man took another look at his map, his eyes becoming slits as he turned the paper inside his hands.

He scowled as he remembered his sensei's words from right before he had taken off.

"_Zoro, are you sure you don't want me to take you to school? I don't mind, you know... the kids can do without me for a while."_

"_I'm sure, sensei. Don't worry about it... I know exactly where I have to go."_

"_Well, if you say so... Still, better take this map with you. It contains all of East Blue. Oh, and I've got you this compass as well. Or maybe we should get one of these new portable GPS things? The newest product from Snail... I hear it's impossible to get lost with it."_

"_There is no need for that, sensei. I've got it covered, so stop worrying. I've got to go now. Thanks for all you've done for me."_

"_There is no need to bow, Zoro. You are like family to me."_

"_Still, I don't know what I would've done without you. And after Kuina's-... I will make sure to make you proud, sensei."_

"_Zoro, you're my best student and have managed to get enrolled in one of the best schools in the world... I couldn't be more proud of you."_

"_... I... I have to go now. Goodbye, sensei."_

"_I'm sure you'll fulfil your dream... and Zoro?"_

"_Hm?"_

"_The exit is the other way."_

"_... I knew that."_

Zoro sighed. Maybe that GPS thing would have been handy, after all.

He looked around until he spotted a small, grey-haired man readying his boat.

"Excuse me?" Zoro said as he approached the startled fisherman. "I'm searching for East Blue U..."

The man stared at him as if Zoro had grown another head. "East Blue U?" he bellowed out and then roared with laughter. "You drunk or somethin'? 'Tis is Goat Island! East Blue U is in All Blue Central... you're on the wrong island, son."

Eyebrows raised, Zoro looked back at his map and groaned after he had spotted the name.

"Not again..."

* * *

A blond-haired girl leaned against a wall, her hands shaking as she looked at her rescuer with teary eyes.

"You alright?" the blond-haired man asked her before he lit up a cigarette, his foot pressing the bloodied face of her attacker flat to the ground.

"Y-Yes," she answered. "Thank you, Sanji-kun!"

"No need to thank me, Conis-chwaaaan!" he chanted, his serious attitude doing a 180 when hearts appeared inside his eyes. Then he shook his head to clear it. There was a time and a place... "Want me to walk you back?" he offered instead.

"No... no, it's alright. The girls' dorm isn't far from here," Conis said and Sanji noticed happily that her voice had gained a steadier tone.

"Alright. See you tomorrow then."

Conis thanked him again and waved goodbye before she walked through the gates of East Blue U.

Sanji watched her until she had safely entered the main building and then he turned his attention back to the man under his foot. "Now to us... let's have a little chat, shall we?"

He removed his foot from the thug's face (the bloodied man sighed in relief) and sat down on the man's back instead (the thug groaned in pain).

"You have a lot of nerve, you know?" Sanji said in a rather conversational tone. He didn't really expect a reply... his last kick to the man's face had knocked out several of his teeth and he reckoned the thug needed all of his concentration not to choke on the blood inside his mouth.

"Well, not that I'm surprised... You're one of Krieg's men, aren't you?" Sanji went on, taking a deep drag from his cigarette. "Probably new... otherwise you would know that the university is off limits for petty little thugs like you. This is the Strawhat's turf, bastard!" He accentuated his words with another kick to man's head. "And no one attacks one of our fellow students, least of all a woman!" He kicked him again just to make sure the guy had gotten the point.

"Now, now, Sanji... don't kill him. You know how much work it is to get rid of the evidence," a voice said and Sanji turned around to see a black-haired man stepping out of the shadows.

"Yo, Ace! The old man let you go already?" the blond man asked, holding up a hand in greeting and grinning around his cigarette at the older man.

Ace grinned back as he approached the blond. He was the brother of Sanji's captain and Whitebeard's second in command as well as Sanji's best friend. Having a body, most people would kill to either have or touch, Ace knew how attractive he was and used every chance he got to show it.

Walking around bare-chested whenever he had the chance, Ace made the entire college drool on sight. Be it men or women, no one could resist to stare when he passed by and even Sanji had a tough time despite devoting his whole life to beautiful women. Not that he really tried... he might be straight as they come but the blond did enjoy his friend's flirtations... especially after he had realised what an effect they had on women.

For some reason gay men seemed to be considered 'sexy' these days.

"Yeah, he just wanted to discuss my lessons and have a drink," Ace answered Sanji's question, his grin still in place. "But speaking of the old man... aren't you getting a bit ahead of yourself, calling East Blue U _your_ turf?"

"Well, I can only speak for my crew, can't I? Besides, it's not like anyone doesn't know this place is protected by Whitebeard..." Sanji leaned down to look into the thug's face and grinned. "Right?"

If the man's wide eyes were of any indication then no, the guy _hadn't_ known about that.

Ace looked unimpressed at the bloody mess on the ground and shook his head. "Paulie will have a fit if he sees this... make sure you dispose of the trash, yeah?"

Sanji gave a mock salute. "Of course, dormhead-san!"

Grinning, Ace walked on only to stop right before passing the gate. "And come to our room later. Luffy wanted to talk to you."

When Sanji nodded, Ace walked on and vanished inside the building.

"Now, let's get rid of you, yeah?"

The man on the ground looked up at him in fear.

"Don't look like that, idiot. Didn't you listen? I _won't_ kill you... But after you have regained consciousness, it would be nice of you to tell your boss that the Strawhats _and_ Whitebeards won't tolerate this bullshit any longer, yeah?"

A well placed kick sent the unlucky thug out onto the street and far away from East Blue U. Sanji looked after him and took one last drag from his cigarette before he let the butt fall to the ground and stepped on it.

With one last look at the moon, he walked through the big, heavy gates and let them close behind him with a loud creak.

* * *

Zoro looked first at the sign, then at his map, back at the sign and then at the map again.

Well, Drum Island sure wasn't on it.

Rubbing his cold hands and occasionally blowing at them (why the hell was it suddenly this cold?), he turned around and then approached a chubby, friendly looking lady.

Already dreading the answer, Zoro asked where he was.

"This is Cocoa Weed... are you lost, boy?" the woman asked him kindly.

"No, but the islands keep moving," Zoro mumbled under his breath.

"What?"

"Nothing... but just for the record: this... isn't East Blue any more, is it?"

The woman laughed for a whole of five minutes before she was finally able to answer his question. The few pressed out words caused Zoro's face to twitch.

Cursing, he turned around and made to search for another ship that could take him along.

How the hell had he managed to enter the Grand Line without knowing, anyway?

* * *

"Sanji, did you take care of business?" Ace asked as the blond stepped into their room and closed the door behind him.

Ace sat at the desk while Luffy was on the upper bed, his feet dangling over the edge. Sanji grinned at his captain who returned it no less brightly. No one who didn't know Luffy could even begin to understand that he was one of the strongest people in the east part of town.

"Sure, I did..." Sanji answered Ace's question, then turned to his captain. "You wanted to talk to me?"

There were a lot of things going on right now and Sanji reckoned, whatever Luffy wanted to talk about had to do with the attacks on the students... it was either that or-

"What's for dinner tomorrow?"

Sanji nearly fell over. "_That's_ what you wanted? I should've known..."

"Shishishishishi! You know how much I like your food!"

Ace hit his brother with the flat hand on the back of his head. "Quit thinking with your stomach, Luffy. You're a captain now! Show a bit of responsibility!"

Luffy pouted. "Meals are important to stay healthy!"

"Yeah, yeah..." Ace said, brushing his brother off. "That aside, it might be good to discuss what we're going to do. About Krieg and the other rogue pirates, I mean."

"Yeah, it does seem strange... It's like they especially target our students, lately. Maybe Krieg is planning something?" Sanji asked.

"But it's not just him. Buggy and Alvida's activities have acted up as well... you can't even enter the city without getting ambushed! And the government seems to be up to something, too. They've been sending out ships to search for something in South Blue. Pops told me about it."

"You don't think they want to break the alliance, do you?" Sanji asked, frowning.

Ace shook his head. "Honestly, I've no idea... but I think something big is going to happen soon. The old man said so as well."

"We'll take care of that when the time comes," Luffy said. His gaze was unusual serious as he looked at his friend and brother. "If Buggy, Alvida and Krieg want to cause trouble, we'll just beat them up. As for the government... I'm sure Whitebeard and Shanks won't let them do anything."

"You sure are optimistic, Luffy. What if the government finds a way of beating the emperors? If they gain power over the world again..." Sanji shook his head. "The shitty old geezer has told me how the world had been twenty years ago... a corrupt government killing everyone who dares to stand against them and justifying everything with their sick opinion of true justice."

"I won't let it come to that," Luffy said.

"Well, I'm with you there, but... even the marines are on the side of the government again ever since Sengoku has been replaced with Akainu," Ace said. "And Akainu has the exact same values as the government from twenty years ago! If the government now finds a way to fight the emperors... The old man says he isn't worried, but he has gone drinking with Shanks a lot lately."

Sanji frowned. "Hm, there isn't anything we can do until one of them moves... we just have to trust the big four for now."

"Oh, you know me: there isn't anyone I trust more than Whitebeard, but... I can't help thinking, the Great Age of Pirates is coming to an end."

"Shishishishishi, doesn't matter, does it? If it does, then we just make a new one!"

"So, that's your big plan, pirate king? Just beginning a new age?" Sanji asked grinning.

"Of course! The Great Age of Meat!"

Sanji and Ace just groaned.

* * *

Sanji felt his charming smile wavering slightly when the receptionist and secretary had finished explaining the change in his sleeping arrangements. He was a pro at everything he did and as unfortunate as it was, he wouldn't allow anything to change his charming attitude towards a lady... not even when said lady had just boldly explained to him, he would have to share his already cramped space with a roommate.

"I chose you because you are the only _boy_ with a single room," Kalifa said. He didn't like the emphasis she had put on 'boy' at all but still kept on his smile. "The space might be small but it will fit a futon. Any objections, Sanji-san?"

"No, of course not, Kalifa-san," he answered and forcibly pushed back on the flirtatious tone.

Three accusations of sexual harassment before breakfast were enough for the day.

"Good. Then you can go to class now."

"Wait! What's with my roommate? Shouldn't I... show him around or something?" Sanji asked. He might hate the thought of having to share his space with another man but it still couldn't hurt to befriend the guy.

"Unfortunately, he still hasn't arrived yet. I called his home but was told not to worry. Apparently Roronoa Zoro has-" She shuffled around in her papers and pulled out a small note. "-'the worst sense of direction in all of East Blue'."

Sanji's eyes widened. "What? You mean he got lost or something?"

"That seems to be the case, yes," Kalifa said, pushing up her glasses.

"Great..." Sanji muttered under his breath, then turned his attention back to the blond beauty. "If he can't even find the school, how the hell did he enrol in the first place?"

"I think he won a sword-fighting tournament and was recommended by one of the judges. He is supposed to be quite the genius at fighting..."

"Another muscle-head then..." Sanji mumbled. "Well, whatever. See you later, Kalifa-san!"

"That's se-"

"Sexual harassment, I know, I know," Sanji said, already walking down the hall and holding up his hand without looking back.

Kalifa cocked one carefully formed eyebrow and took out a small, black book.

"Blackleg Sanji..." she whispered, writing down the name directly under 'Portgas D. Ace'.

* * *

Zoro barely managed to resist the urge of dropping to the ground and kissing the soil under his feet when he finally read the sign of 'All Blue Central'.

After somehow arriving on a small island where he had found a giant, closed chest with the words 'Roger was here' scribbled on the wall behind it, he had managed to reach another island with a raft and had grabbed his next ride on a marine ship.

His old reputation of a pirate hunter had done him some good and he had done well not to tell the marines that he actually wanted to go to All Blue Central to enter East Blue U... the school didn't exactly have a good reputation with the marines.

Hearing his stomach grumble, Zoro made his way to a nearby restaurant to grab a bite to eat. He was already weeks (or was it months?) late... what were a few more hours?

* * *

"You're getting a roommate, Sanji-kun?" an orange-haired girl asked him later when they had lunch in the canteen.

"Yes, Nami-swan. Some sword-fighting guy... but I think he is an idiot. Apparently, he can't even find the damn school!"

"Shishishishishi, bet he's funny," Luffy said who sat opposite Sanji. "I can't wait to meet him!"

Sanji sighed as he looked at his grinning captain who was no doubt already planning to get that lost kid to join their crew.

Their crew... it was one of the most unusual things in their school that the students were allowed to form 'pirate crews'. It was similar to clubs in other schools but... normal clubs didn't plan to travel the Grand Line after graduating and neither were they able to take part in special tournaments to fight the other crews.

In this day and age where wanting to become a pirate was as normal as being a fisherman, establishments like East Blue U had been founded to teach all there was to roam the seas: there were subjects like Combat Class, Devil Fruit Theory, Navigation as well as all the normal ones like Maths, Art or Home Economics.

Everyone took special positions in those crews and after graduating, it wasn't unusual for the crewmembers to stay together and become real pirates.

Sanji was the cook of the Strawhat Pirates, Luffy, their captain and Nami, beautiful, money loving Nami, their navigator. They also had a sharpshooter and a doctor who had eaten a Devil's Fruit and looked like a reindeer-tanuki but those two were off doing... something. Probably causing trouble and coming running in three... two... one...

"Waaah!"

All eyes in the canteen turned to the entrance as a crying Usopp and Chopper came running in, followed by a furious looking Eustass Kidd, another pirate captain.

"Now you've done it you two! I'm going to fucking kill you!" he screamed, his slightly singed, red hair still smoking.

Usopp and Chopper ran to the Strawhats' table and hid behind Luffy and Sanji who both stood up as the furious captain approached.

"Out of the way, Strawhat! Those guys are mine..." Kidd said as he came to a stop before Luffy, his eyes flashing dangerously.

"Nah, they aren't," Luffy said simply. "What did they do?"

"What did they... _What did they do? _Look at my fucking hair!" Kidd said and pointed at his burned locks. "That long-nose has hit me with some flame ball!"

Luffy looked at Usopp with a big grin. "Oh, your new ammunition worked?"

"Yeah and it looked really cool and-" Usopp began excitedly but stopped abruptly when Kidd stared deadly at him and his legs began to tremble.

"Did you really think, I would just forget about this? No one who made fun of me had ever lived..."

Chopper whimpered next to Sanji's leg and the cook lay his hand on the scared reindeer's head. "It's just some hair and you don't look any less like a punk to me..." he said, ignoring Usopp's squeaks to be quiet.

"You little-" Kidd began but stopped when a hand appeared on his shoulder.

"Calm down, Eustass. You know the rules... anything goes but you kill and get expelled."

Trafalgar Law, yet another captain and Kidd's roommate (a fact neither of them had appreciated so far) had come to their table. While Law seemed to be quite a decent guy compared to a few of the other students, his reputation far exceeded anyone's expectation.

The 'Surgeon of Death' was just like Kidd and Luffy a Devil's Fruit user and known for stealing hearts... quite literally.

"Shut up, Trafalgar! I'm a pirate, I don't care about rules! I just want to make them bleed..."

"And because of a bit of singed hair, you want to forget about your dream? You've to relax, Eustass. If you want to get back at them, do so in a tournament or in Combat Class."

Kidd grinned evilly. "Combat class, eh? That's tomorrow, isn't it?" he said, looking at his cowering prey like a predator. "Maybe you're right... tomorrow then."

Chopper and Usopp swallowed as he went of, cackling like crazy and leaving a thinning trail of smoke behind him.

"I think you guys should start writing your wills," Sanji said while Luffy laughed.

* * *

Later that day, Sanji went back to his room after he had listened to Usopp's pleas for hours and hours. The long-nose wanted Sanji to protect him from Kidd. Naturally, the cook had answered he should grow some boobs first and then...

Sanji shook his head. And then Chopper and Usopp had discussed if the reindeer was ready for a surgery like that. In the end, the cook had agreed just to escape having to look at a big-breasted Usopp every day.

Sighing, Sanji opened the door to room 108 and entered but stopped in his track once he had gotten a good look at the inside.

The rooms in EBU's dorms were simple but practical. Every one of them had at least one desk, two beds and a big cupboard to store their stuff. Sanji's room as the only single one in the boy's dorm had only one bed and his room was a bit smaller than the other ones. As Sanji looked at the inside of room 108, however, he suddenly realised that his days of blessed solitude were finally coming to an end.

Sanji stared, his eyes wandering over the sleeping stranger in his bed.

"Dear God, it's the green Hulk himself..." the blond muttered, as he took in the man's green hair and bulky form. A small puddle of drool had gathered on Sanji's pillow, leaving a dark patch on the fabric.

Sanji's eyes darkened. "Get the hell up, asshole!" he yelled, raising his leg to kick the sleeping man. He had neither expected him to move nor a sword being suddenly pressed against his neck.

"Who the hell are you and what do you want?" the man asked with deadly eyes, his voice raspy from sleep.

"What _I_ want? I want you to get the hell out of my bed!"

Raising an eyebrow, the man looked down at the mattress he was kneeling on and then back at Sanji. "_Your_ bed? You're my roommate?"

"Unfortunately," Sanji said, stepping away from the blade when he realised the man didn't want to slit his throat any more. "I'm Sanji... and judging by those knives and your obvious stupidity, you must be Zoro. Found your way finally here, huh?"

Zoro growled, his eyes darkening. "Who told you about that?"

"A beautiful bird, shithead. Damn, I can't believe I'm gonna be stuck with such an idiot," Sanji muttered. "Look, I've had this room for myself this whole time, so I'm not exactly pleased with the arrangement... Just mind your own business and I won't plant my foot in your face, got it?"

The green-haired man sneered. "As if you could do that, curly brow!"

"Curly..." Sanji splattered. "Alright, that's it, you damn-" he looked at Zoro's hair, first frowning and then grinning widely. "Moss-head!"

"Moss-head?" Zoro asked angrily.

"Oh, no... wait! Marimo! Marimo is even better!"

"What? You starting with pet names now?" Zoro smirked. "I don't think think I know you that well yet..."

"You little... that was an insult, you idiot!" Sanji yelled and raised his leg.

Zoro parried the kick with his swords and slashed at him but was stopped by Sanji's foot. "Not bad," Zoro said and grinned as they continued to fight.

They went on like that for half an hour, their skills so evenly matched that neither of them managed to get the upper hand. After they had slowed down, exhausted from the unusual fierce battle, they simultaneously dropped to the floor in front of Sanji's bed, panting to catch their breath.

"Damn, Kalifa didn't lie... you really _are_ a good fighter," Sanji said.

"I wouldn't have gotten in, otherwise... I neither know any pirates, nor do I have the money."

"Yeah, you don't really look like you do," Sanji said, taking in his ragged, white shirt and dirty, black pants. "What's with the haramaki?"

Zoro shrugged. "It's warm and gives me a place to keep my swords."

"If you say so... why do you have three of them, anyway? Compensating for something?"

"Shut up, idiot! Three are just better than one, got it? And what about you, anyway? You're only using your legs to fight..." Zoro said and to Sanji's surprise, he grabbed one of his wrists to pull it in front of his eyes, looking with obvious scrutiny at his hand. "Doesn't seem like there is anything wrong with it..."

"There isn't, idiot!" Sanji barked out and pulled his wrist out of Zoro's grip. "I'm a chef and have to protect my hands. They're the most precious part of my body."

"I see... It gives you a disadvantage in a fight, though," Zoro said.

Sanji gritted his teeth. "My legs are more than capable of dealing with any idiot who decides to challenges me, thanks."

After a moment of rather uncomfortable silence, Zoro said, "Hey, blondie."

"It's _Sanji._"

"Whatever, curly brow. Where is my bed? We aren't supposed to share, are we?"

Sanji flushed. "Of course not! There is a futon in the cupboard... the room doesn't fit two beds, so you'll have to deal with that."

"Well, it's better than nothing..." Zoro said. "I wouldn't mind the sharing, though. I always did that at the orphanage."

The first comment had thrown Sanji off a bit (he was alright with _sharing a bed?_) but the last admission had distracted him from that. "You're an orphan?" Sanji asked.

"Yeah, my parents died when I was three. Can't even remember them."

"Me too..." Sanji said. "I was adopted by a shitty old geezer, though. You?"

"I wasn't adopted, but my sensei took care of me..." Zoro said and with wonder, Sanji watched as a gentle look appeared on his face. "He... was always good to me. In the end, I was only sleeping at that place."

"Your sensei... that's the guy who taught you how to fight, right?"

"Yeah. He couldn't adopt me but he is still like a father to me."

"I see..." Sanji said slowly. Seemed like even such a brute had people who were important to him... "You should get your futon now. Curfew is eleven here..."

Zoro stood up from the ground and Sanji shook his head. He wasn't usually this fast to exchange personal information but something about this guy gave him an initial sense of trust... Maybe it was because of their fight before? For a born fighter like Sanji, it was an easy thing to get a good understanding of his opponent's personality.

Zoro's fighting style was honest and honourable... he seemed to have studied with a true swordsman, an impression that only intensified when Zoro had spoken that fondly of his sensei.

The guy was an idiot but all in all, he seemed to be alright...

"Can't I just sleep with you?"

Alright but _damn_ annoying!

"Of course you can't!" Sanji exclaimed. He had stopped reaching for a cigarette mid-movement and eyes wide, Sanji stared at the swordsman.

"But I hate sleeping on futons... come on, I don't bite," Zoro said. His words would've had more effect if he hadn't put a blade on Sanji's throat before, though.

"Shut up and make your damn bed! I'm only sharing mine with beautiful women..."

Zoro rolled his eyes. "It's not as if I would attack you in your sleep or try to get a grope, blondie. Come on... just for today. I'm dead tired from my journey."

"No chance. I don't even know you! What makes you think I would sleep wi-... I would share a bed with you?" When Zoro just smirked, Sanji went on. "Y-You might be okay to do that with guys you've known since childhood but why would I want to... to sleep with you?"

"Dunno... just seemed like the right thing to do," Zoro said, shrugging.

Sanji blushed... he actually _fucking_ blushed at that damn bastard's words! What the hell was this conversation?

"W-Whatever. I won't share! Go and get your futon now... I want to sleep."

To Sanji's relief, the swordsman shrugged again and went to do as he was told.

Sanji watched as Zoro took the futon out of the cupboard and spread it out in their limited space, his gaze stopping at Zoro's green hair.

He had been flirting with Ace for ages... it was pure fun and Sanji had never thought anything of it. So, why the hell were innocent remarks like these making him feel that... that uneasy? Was it because he had to share a room with this guy from now on?

Whatever it was, Sanji planned to stay the hell away from the bastard as good as he could.

* * *

The next day, Zoro was in for a few surprises as Sanji announced, he had to get up early to cook breakfast.

"You're cooking here?"

"Yeah. My father owns a restaurant and he taught me to cook since I was a child. That was also the reason why I got a single room but thanks to you... I can forget about that now." Sanji shrugged. "Doesn't really matter, though. I'm rather cooking than having to eat the crap, they would've served here, otherwise. There was this cook here when I just enrolled... you should've seen the noodles he made..." Sanji shook his head. "They were disgusting enough that even Luffy refused to eat them. A total waste of food."

Zoro blinked. "Luffy?"

"My captain... a black hole for food. You'll meet him later. You haven't joined a crew yet, have you?" Sanji asked.

"No, and I'm not planning to, either. You're a pirate?"

"More or less... I was pretty much forced into it. Luffy doesn't look like much but it's hard to refuse him anything."

"Che, you're just too damn weak. Something like that would _never_ happen to me!" Zoro claimed and Sanji laughed.

"Wanna bet?"

* * *

"FOOOOOOD!" Luffy screamed as he entered the canteen. "Sanji, I want meat! Lot's of meat!"

"Luffy, it's still morning. You'll get meat at lunchtime," Sanji said before he expertly turned the eggs in his pan with a throw.

Luffy made a face but obediently sat down at the table. Cocking his head, he looked at the snoring guy in front of him. "Sanji, who is that? I don't think I've seen him before..."

"Marimo, my new roommate."

"Marimo?" Luffy asked and then laughed. "Shishishishishi, what a funny name!"

"It's Zoro, you damn cook," a sleepy voice said and Sanji turned around to see Zoro glaring tiredly at him.

"Oh, you're awake... for someone who was dead set against sleeping in a bed, you sure can sleep anywhere."

"Shut up, I had to get up early because of you..." Zoro said grumpily and then turned to Luffy. "So, you're that guy's captain?"

"Yep! I'm Monkey D. Luffy and I'll be the pirate ki-"

A hand suddenly pressed Luffy's head down, pushing his big strawhat over his eyes. "Saying that again, kiddo? You like pissing people off, eh?" Law grinned down at him.

Slapping Law's hand away, Luffy turned around and glared at him. "Nah, I'm just saying the truth! You wait and see, Trafal-guy!"

"It's TrafalGAR, Strawhat!" Law said and then looked at Zoro with a frown. "You're new here, aren't you? I'm Trafalgar Law, a pirate captain." He looked Zoro up and down and Sanji had to grin inwardly at the scrutinising look. Law was a lot like Ace, liked men and women alike and it seemed as if he was already taking a fancy to the new swordsman. The guy would have it tough in the future...

After he had finished his once-over, Law grinned at Zoro. "You look... strong. Wanna join my crew?"

"Oi! I just wanted to ask him that!" Luffy said, pushing Law away and staring at Zoro. "Join my crew, marimo!"

"It's Zoro!" Zoro said to Luffy, a vein beginning to pop on his forehead. "And I don't want to join _any_ crew."

"Well, that's too bad... Still, if you ever change your mind..." Law said, letting the unspoken words hang in the room before he turned to Sanji. "Oi, blondie! What's gonna be for breakfast?"

"Fried eggs, rice balls and bacon. And how many times do I have to tell you? It's _Sanji_. S-A-N-J-I!"

"If you join my crew, I'll call you anything you want, babe!"

Luffy glared at Law again. "Stop trying to steal my crewmates, dammit! Sanji is mine!"

"Yeah, yeah..."

"Morning, everyone..." Nami said, yawning widely as she entered the room.

"Nami-swaaaaan!" Sanji exclaimed and with a tablet with snacks in his hand, he did a weird, twirling dance until he came to a stop in front of her.

"Is he sick or something?" Zoro asked as he watched the cook's strange behaviour with raised eyebrows.

"Naaah, Sanji is always like that when he sees a woman..." Luffy said with a look at his cook. "Ace says he is lovesick, though."

"Ace? Wait a minute... you don't mean Portgas D. Ace, do you?" Zoro asked.

"Shishishishishi! Of course! Ace is my big brother..."

"Your brother is... Whitebeard's second in command? And he is going to _this_ school?"

"Yep! But he is eating later. Ace always sleeps in."

"And he isn't the only famous guy, we have here... Marco the phoenix is one of our combat teachers," Nami said as she sat down next to Luffy. Sanji was already back at the stove, his smoke forming a chain of hearts. "I'm Nami, the Strawhats' navigator." She extended her hand and Zoro shook it.

"So, everyone of you wants to set sail after school?"

"Yep! But there are a few who are studying here to become something else, too... like Kaya, Conis, Vivi and Coby. Coby even wants to become a marine!" Luffy said.

"But most people end up becoming pirates, anyway... it's the best way to make money, after all," Nami said.

"And the marines? I've heard pirates who studied here are getting something like a pass..."

"Yeah. Whitebeard and Shanks are sort of patrons of East Blue U and because of their alliance with the government, you're standing outside the law once you've graduated," Nami explained. "But there are exceptions... if you're going too wild and begin slaughtering innocent people for example, your title will be revoked. But marines can still apprehend you while you're at school. They can challenge you to a duel"

"A duel?"

Nami nodded. "Yes, but nearly no one ever does... they are too afraid of Whitebeard's influence and not many people get bounties before going to school. Well, Luffy did."

"You have a bounty?" Zoro asked Luffy.

"Yep! Thirty million beli!"

Zoro stared. "Thirty million?"

"Yeah, this idiot pissed off a marine and got the bounty for that. But we got enrolled here soon after," Nami said just as Sanji came twirling to her, a tablet in one of his hands.

"Nami-swaaaaan! Your breakfast is ready~!" he said in a sing-sang voice as he set down Nami's plate in front of her. Then Sanji turned to the boys, "Oi, bastards! Come and get your food!"

"FOOOOD!"

Luffy was the first at the counter and the others hurried after him before he could gulf down all of the food.

All poor, oblivious Zoro got, though, were a few left-over rice balls.

Sanji laughed. "You have to be faster, marimo. Every meal is like a small war here..."

Zoro shrugged. "I don't care... I like rice balls best, anyway. "

"Favourite food?"

Zoro nodded and took a bite. As the flavour exploded on his tongue, his eyes widened in shock.

"That good, eh?" Sanji asked grinning but Zoro shook his head.

"Nah, but... I know this taste."

Sanji frowned. "Can't be. It's the first receipt I've ever learned... my mother taught me, just before she-" Sanji shook his head. "Not even my old man knows it."

Zoro shrugged. "If you say so..." he said and slowly continued to eat. He wasn't quite able to shake this feeling of familiarity off.

Nami, who had gone to get a fresh glass of orange juice (Sanji had been off fawning over other girls who were entering the canteen and thus was unable to serve her), looked at Zoro's plate with raised eyebrows. "Weren't fast enough, eh?" she asked, pointing at his two lonely rice balls. "Wanna have some of mine?"

Frowning, Zoro looked first at her, then at his plate. The combination of bacon, eggs and rice sure looked delicious. "You're sharing?" he asked. Nami didn't really seem like that much of a nice girl... did he get the wrong impression?

"Sure. Here, have some eggs," Nami said, putting some of her eggs on his plate.

"Thanks!" Zoro grinned as he dived in. Just after he had taken the first bite, however...

"That's two thousand beli per egg," Nami said and Zoro spit the food all over the table.

"Don't waste food, asshole!" Sanji screamed as his foot collided with Zoro's head.

All in all, the beginning of a normal day at East Blue U...

* * *

As tradition was having it, Sanji as Zoro's roommate was stuck showing him around after breakfast. He didn't really get the point, though. It wasn't as if the swordsman would later remember where everything was, anyway.

"And this is the shitty library," Sanji said, his voice bored as he pointed at the big, wooden door with his thumb. "Not that you would ever go in there, of course. There are only books... Can you even read?"

"Shut up, shitcook! What the hell is up with you? I didn't ask you to show me around, did I?"

Sanji shrugged. "But you had to choose this fucking school... that's why it's your fault, anyway," he said and made to go on but Zoro's voice stopped him.

"I really don't get your attitude. The first time we met, you tried to kick my head in!"

"You were drooling on my pillow, asshole."

"And that's probably the most action, it has ever seen..."

"You wanna fight?"

"Bring it on, curly-brow!"

They started to run towards each other, Sanji's leg ready to kick while Zoro was reaching for his swords. Just as they were about to clash, however...

"_Room... Shambles!_"

Sanji felt a weird force before he saw a flash of a blade that wasn't Zoro's. He cried out as he flew into the air and the ground went further and further away... well, the ground and his legs, apparently.

"Law, you damn bastard! Put my body back together, you asshole!" Sanji screamed.

"Law? What the hell?" the cook heard Zoro exclaim and looked down to see him in the exact same situation... the only difference was that his upper-body was now attached to one of the Roman sockets that lined the hallway.

"I just wanted to cool you guys a bit off," Law said, leaning against a wall with crossed arms as he watched them with a grin.

Sanji felt his eyebrow twitch. He _hated_ it when Law did this... he was rather attached to his lower half!

… normally he was, anyway.

"Get me the fuck down! _Now!_"

"No chance, honey. Paulie is in a bad mood today... if he sees you guys destroying the hallway because of a stupid fight, we all have to feel for it. I still have rope burn from last time, you know?" Law said and with a last smirk, the bastard went off.

"Come back here, you idiot! Get me back down, damn it!" Sanji screamed after him but was completely ignored.

"Well, this sure is weird..." Zoro said as he watched his legs walking around aimlessly. "So he is a Devil's Fruit user?"

"Of the most annoying kind, yes..."

"Are you one, too?"

Sanji frowned. "Why are you asking?"

"Because your curly eyebrow can't be normal... Did you eat the Curly Curly No Mi?"

Ten seconds later, the hallway was destroyed by kicking legs and a swordsman-socket.

* * *

Zoro rubbed his hurting wrists as he tried to follow his very first lesson. Law hadn't been kidding about that Paulie guy... apparently, their janitor was a rather strange man who liked to punish the students with ropes that practically came out of nowhere. He had also claimed that Zoro's appearance was inappropriate because he had two buttons on his shirt undone... Sanji insisted Paulie was a closet pervert despite his remarks, though.

Sanji... there was a thought.

Zoro didn't get that guy... not at all. First he had used every chance he had gotten to insult Zoro, then they had fought and afterwards, the cook had been all buddy-buddy again, bad-mouthed Law and other guys as if Zoro and him had been best friends for years!

Exactly like the night before, they had fallen into this strange mood. A sense of trust had developed after their fight as if it was completely normal for them to hang out and discuss the personality problems of others.

Did they just need a vent for their frustration and anger to act hospitable around each other?

And not only that... the cook seemed to have a talent to rile Zoro up as well. He wasn't usually this easily insulted but something about the cook made him lose his temper in a heartbeat...

Was it because of that ridiculous eyebrow, maybe?

When a pair of piercing eyes fixed on Zoro, he automatically straightened inside his seat.

Sanji had also told him everything about the teachers and he had especially emphasized that Nico Robin was _not_ a person you could mess with.

As a beautiful raven-haired woman (as Sanji loved to point out in a high, screechy voice that made Zoro's hair stand up on the neck) who also was a student at the school, the history teacher was a person who loved her subject more than anything and anyone who didn't pay proper attention, would be feeling her wrath.

She wasn't the only one who was teacher and student alike, though. There were several people at EBU who excelled in certain subject and were qualified to teach them despite studying others.

Sanji was one of them as well... he was their teacher for Home Economics and Chopper (a strange tanuki that claimed to be a reindeer and who Zoro had met right before class) sometimes replaced the school's nurse.

"I think all of you have already heard about the 'War of the Best', the very event that began the 'Great Age of Pirates'," Nico Robin began her lecture and Zoro willed himself to listen. "Twenty years ago, the world was ruled by a government that did all means necessary to ensure their continued power. Before the war, not less than ten islands had been destroyed by the Buster Call, a vicious attack meant to kill whoever dared to threaten the government's power.

Thousands of innocent people were killed by the government's thirst for power and might. The situation was dire enough that even the emperors, the four strongest pirates of the Grand Line, couldn't turn their eyes away any more.

Gol D. Roger, the one man who had claimed the title of 'Pirate King' and one of the former emperors, formed an alliance with the other great pirates and together, they defeated the marines in the 'War of the Best'.

But not without loss... when Gol D. Roger was dying of his battle wounds, when comrades and enemies alike had asked him where his legendary treasure was hidden, he had smiled widely and said the very words that would begin a new age:

_'My treasure? If you want it, you can have it. Go look for it! I left everything at that place!'_

These words caused many people to dream and the 'Great Age of Pirates' was born.

Whitebeard, the strongest emperor after Roger, was sick of the endless battles and extended his hand to the marines who shared his dream of peace and together, they managed to build a new world... a world ruled by an alliance of outlaws and a new government."

"Our city, All Blue Central, built on the world's biggest continent and divided in four sections, is the world's centre and its place of decisions. Each section is ruled by one of the current emperor and stands for one of the four seas: Whitebeard for the East, Shanks for the South, Kaido for the West and Big Mom for the North. The government rules the upper city section, Mariejois, and consists of the Gorosei, five wise men who represent the world's 'normal' population."

Zoro only half listened to Nico-sensei's explanations but made sure to appear interested.

Even though he came from a rather small village, Zoro had heard all of that before... 'the War of the Best' was common knowledge and his sensei had made sure to gather every newspaper article available about All Blue Central. Still, when Zoro had finally entered the giant city, he had been quite surprised by its bad state.

As it usually was with cities like these, the richer people lived higher up while the poor had to stay in lower sections. East Blue U was in one of the poorest sections and even though Zoro had known about that, it had still shocked him how dirty and rundown the lower town had looked. While the university itself was kept in rather good shape, the buildings around it looked as if they could crash down at any moment. The alleys were filthy and on his way to EBU, some unlucky thugs had tried to rob Zoro no less than five times.

He had heard how rogue pirates ruled the back alleys but Zoro had never expected it to be this bad... it seemed like you had to be at least a decent fighter to get into town unharmed. It wasn't a problem for him, of course, but weaker people who had managed to enter the school because of other abilities, connections or money would need an escort just to go shopping for groceries...

Maybe that was the reason why most of the students seemed to have entered a pirate crew at some point. Zoro had only met four other persons so far who didn't join a crew yet: Conis and Kaya who both studied medicine, Coby who wanted to be a marine and thus couldn't join one (he would have it tough enough after graduating, anyway) and his history teacher, Nico Robin.

She was Nami's roommate from what Zoro had heard and kept mostly to herself. Everyone, even Sanji, described her as a mysterious woman and no one knew exactly what had brought her to EBU. It was widely known that the government was keeping an eye on her, though.

Apparently, a secret organisation was mixed among the students and teachers (not really _that_ secret any more, though, as everyone seemed to know about them) to keep an eye on Nico Robin and the other students.

Their principal hadn't liked it from what Zoro had heard but it was one of the conditions to keep the school running and when both Whitebeard and Shanks had agreed to the terms, the principal had no choice but to accept their decision.

Zoro yawned and looked at the clock. Because of the damn cook, he hadn't gotten much sleep the night before and he couldn't wait to sneak back to his room and secretly catch a few 'Zs' in the blond's bed.

As he kept staring at the clock, Zoro felt a weird sensation on both of his shoulders. Turning his head, his eyes widened as he saw a pair of additional arms grow out of his body.

The hands suddenly covered Zoro's mouth and eyes still wide, he looked at Nico Robin who glared back, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Clutch!"

He cried out at the piercing pain in his back as the foreign hands pressed his head back and with tears in his eyes, Roronoa Zoro decided to hate History from that day on.

* * *

Combat Class, favourite subject of ninety percent of male students at EBU.

Sanji watched as Zoro stepped out of the dressing room, his upper-body bare and two swords already inside his hands while the white one still remained in his haramaki. The teachers and students were dying to see the new guy in action and Sanji as the only one who had already seen what the swordsman could do, was looking forward to see the others' reaction.

They seemed to be interested in something completely different, though.

"Damn, that's one nice ass!" Law said.

"The abs aren't that bad as well..." Ace added and then turned to Sanji. "You're sooo lucky to room with him, blondie! All I have is a hyperactive brother..."

"Don't be stupid... I'm not like that," Sanji said.

"And isn't that a shame?" Ace said and lay an arm around the chef's shoulder. "Well, maybe the male population will be lucky and Zoro manages to turn our favourite cook. Right, Law?"

Law nodded. "If that's the case, I'll definitely steal him from Luffy."

"I told you, Sanji is mine!" Luffy exclaimed from his place next to Ace.

Sanji rubbed his temples. If only they had mixed classes and a few beautiful flowers were between all of these brutes...

He got why they were giving Zoro the eye, though. That morning, he hadn't seen him getting dressed (Sanji made sure, he was in the bath at that time... for some reason, he had thought being alone in a small room with a half-naked Hulk would not end up well for him) and so, this was the first time for him to see just how bulky that guy _really_ was.

The firm muscles on the swordsman's torso and arms looked intimidating as they rippled with every move and even in the dark, Zoro's six-pack would put Sanji's own to shame easily.

The man wore a dark green bandana around his head and with his eyes covered in shadows, it gave him a near demonic look.

He was like a force of nature... his aura buzzing with power as his dark gaze wandered over the students and stopped at Sanji. A smirk appeared on the bastard's face and Sanji shuddered as their eyes met, his stomach doing weird somersaults at those piercing eyes.

All of a sudden, Sanji was glad their classes were not mixed... that guy was a blow to any man's ego.

"Will all of you stop it now?" Sanji said irritatedly as Ace and Law gave a vivid description of what they wanted to do to that body... or rather what they wanted Zoro to do to _them._ Sanji's imagination had started to go rather weird ways at the words and his stomach had said goodbye at some point. "You guys are getting on my nerves and Zoro is going to fight Kabaji next..."

"See? Blondie is already enraptured by that green head."

"Shut up, Ace! I just wanna watch... the guy is good, I tell you."

Ace and Law grinned at each other. "Sure he is," they said in unison and Sanji growled.

"I hope he won't take too long. I'm looking forward to my turn..." Kidd threw in with a bloodthirsty look at Usopp and Chopper who shuddered at the attention.

Zoro _didn't_ take long. He had defeated Kabaji in a matter of seconds and the rest of the class applauded in awe.

"Zoro will join my crew! You just watch!" Luffy said excitedly.

Law grinned. "In your dreams, Strawhat. I want him, too."

"No way in hell will I give that guy to you! He's mine!" Kidd said and all three glared at each other.

Sanji shook his head as the name calling began and Law showed Kidd his middle finger. Seriously, what would be next? Would they start pulling each other's hair?

Tearing his gaze from the strong but rather idiotic trio, Sanji watched as Marco said something to Zoro that made a brilliant grin appear on the swordsman's face . He was apparently being praised which was no real surprise. Zoro was strong... _annoyingly_ strong and he had definitely the talent to become one of the school's Supernovas, a title many of the students desired.

The cook cocked his head as he watched on how Zoro spoke to Marco, his eyes shining with obvious excitement about whatever they were talking about. The fearsome look had been replaced by glee and nothing reminded of the demon they had just witnessed.

Strange what a smile could do to change someone's appearance...

Until then, Sanji had only seen Zoro as a stupid oaf... someone you could talk to and fight with every now and then, someone who had a good sense of honour and was rather irritating at times but not exactly bright or special in any way.

Now that he saw him looking like that, however, Sanji thought that Zoro seemed a bit like a child in a candy shop. What made him look like that? Was it the mere thought that his skills were getting acknowledged?

As Sanji pondered on and thought that maybe there was more to the swordsman than met the eye, his resolve to stay the hell away from the bastard began to crumble around the edges as his curiosity rose.

* * *

"Seems like our top Supernovas are fighting over you, Zoro," Usopp said as Zoro joined them and Marco tried to break up the three captains.

"Supernova? What's that?"

"Just a nickname for the top pirates at our school. There are ten right now and nine of them are captains," Usopp explained. His eyes kept glancing over at Kidd who had now begun a shouting match with Luffy and Law while Marco tried to appease the captains. The long-nosed guy seemed to be glad Kidd's attention was somewhere else for the moment...

"It's nothing more than a stupid title... Nothing special at all," Sanji said.

"Sanji is just angry that he wasn't made a Supernova yet..."

"I heard that, Usopp!"

"But you're really strong! Where did you learn to fight with three swords?" Chopper asked with sparkling eyes and Zoro had to grin down at him.

Talking to the tanuki had been weird before but the little guy had a way of pulling people in... not to mention that he was damn cute! Not that Zoro was weak for cute things or anything...

"I've learned to fight in a dojo and developed the Santoryu on my own," he said kindly to Chopper as he lay a hand on his hat.

"Well, it sure is impressive how you can even talk with that sword in your mouth," a voice said behind him and Zoro nearly jumped as an arm slung itself around his shoulders. Ace grinned at him as he invaded his personal space. "Say, handsome... why don't you join the Whitebeards instead?"

"Ace! Zoro is mine! Get your damn hands off him!" Luffy cried. Law and Kidd followed and Ace soon joined in on the shouting match... but apart from the others, he had a big grin on his face and was quite obviously enjoying the quarrel.

"Well, you sure are popular..." Sanji mentioned just as Marco had finally snapped, transformed into his phoenix form and gave all four of them a good beating. Ace enjoyed even that, though.

"Shut up, cook!"

_TBC_

* * *

_And that's the first chapter... it grew longer and longer but I just had to give you the basic information. Hope it wasn't too much to take in ^^°°. A lot of things will be revealed in later chapters, like the pasts of the other Strawhats, how Luffy, Nami and Usopp landed in EBU and so on... the story will be very plotty but I'll make sure to give the information to you in doses and to serve it with lots of sexy ZoSan. _

_Thank you for reading and please take the time to review! :D_


	2. Chapter 2

_This is so late, it isn't even funny... sorry about that!_

_If you're reading 'Thousand Stories' too, you'll already know, but I've had a bit of a writing slump._

_I would've loved to get this out sooner but everything I wrote seemed just too bad to post. I did have a few good sprees but... it just didn't seem good enough and I kept writing everything over._

_Sometimes, I feel like that even now... guess I'm just a bit depressed lately. Sorry! ^^°°_

_Anyway, I'm really, really thankful for all of your nice reviews! They were what pulled me back to the keyboard every time that I was down, so thank you very, very much! :D_

_Some things: I'm always very thorough with warnings, so you can be sure that there won't be things like rape or character death in this story. It might get a bit bloody now and then but nothing too graphic._

_Overall, it's more humour than drama, anyway._

_Will there be smut? YES! Explicit smut? Double YES! XD_

_That will take a while, though, because I want Zoro and Sanji's relationship to be a slow moving one... Well, Ace will be a bit faster ;)_

_The plot will be revealed bit after bit and this chapter is the first step to that. _

_I also hope you won't expect too much drama and angst... there will be a bit of everything but ninety percent of this story will be crack and silliness XD_

_Hope you'll like it, anyway and please tell me what you think again!_

_Thank you!_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece.**_

* * *

**Chapter 2: The Secret of the Demon Child**

The noise in the canteen was deafening as most of EBU's students entered the big hall. Conversations mixed with loud versions of Bink's sake and Fruit users showing off their powers made for a colourful background sound as the students strived to eat their tasty meals.

Sanji himself was already at his crew's usual table, leaving the rest of the students to get their food on their own as he had already taken care of serving EBU's regretfully small number of ladies.

Luffy, Nami, Usopp and Chopper were all seated with him and as always there was an astonishing number of plates stapled in front of his captain. How (or why even) Luffy's grandpa, Monkey D. Garp paid for his grandson's food expenses despite being against him studying there, was anyone's guess...

"Luffy, are you sure, you want Zoro to join us?" Sanji asked his captain while Zoro had gone to get another serving of eggs and bread. Although, he wasn't part of their crew (not yet), he had been sitting with them for all of his meals.

"'Course I want him in our crew!" Luffy answered Sanji's question after swallowing enough pancakes that would have choked any other person. "He is strong, isn't he? Don't you like him?"

"It's not like that, but..." Sanji said as he watched Zoro out of the corners of his eyes.

The feeling of uneasiness hadn't settled down ever since Combat Class a day before and Sanji didn't quite know how to behave around the swordsman. As easy as it was to talk to him, there was just something that kept Sanji from treating him like the others... maybe it was the power, Zoro was emitting.

His raw strength lured Sanji in as much as it frightened him and at times, he had to forcefully bite back a remark that surely would have provoked another fight. Sparring with Zoro had already become thrilling to the point of Sanji craving it like a drug and it was difficult not to give in to the desire of provoking the strong man.

And that strange, primal urge scared Sanji more than anything else.

"He's just a bit... crazy, isn't he?" Sanji ended.

Nami laughed. "We don't even have one normal person among us, Sanji-kun. Not even this guy is normal with all his lies..." she said, hitting Usopp's head repeatedly and ignoring his annoyed 'Oi!'s. "Well, I'm pretty normal..."

"You must be joking!" Usopp cried, holding his head with tears inside his eyes. "You're the biggest witch, who has ever walked upon-"

His outburst was stopped by Nami's fist to his face and Sanji's (incredibly strong) kick to his shin.

"Nami-swan is extraordinarily beautiful!" Sanji swooned while Usopp cringed in pain, hearts flying everywhere as he chanted to his favourite lady.

Nami continued to drink her tea contentedly. "Thank you, Sanji-kun," she said, smiling.

"Anyway, I've already decided: Zoro is going to be our swordsman!" Luffy said, a serious expression on his face as he regarded his crew. No one dared to object... even if they wanted to, it would have been completely pointless, anyway.

"Don't I have a say in this?" Zoro asked as he came back with a new plate and sat down next to Chopper, (who had his mouth full of candyfloss) right across from Sanji.

Sanji lay his head on the table. "No one can change Luffy's mind... could as well accept it," he said and sighed. " If only you were some hot girl..."

Zoro snorted. "You're such an idiot for always chasing skirts... If you trained a bit more, then you wouldn't have such a weak mind."

"I should _train_ more?" Sanji asked. "Like you who stood up at three o'clock in the morning to lift weights in the gym?"

"Seriously?" Nami asked.

"The damn idiot even woke me up!"

Zoro shrugged. "I took an afternoon nap yesterday... I was rested."

Sanji gritted his teeth, his anger rising at every word. "Yeah because you slept in _my_ bed, asshole!"

"Is it my fault that I have to sneak in to sleep in a proper bed? You're just too damn stingy, cook!"

Now, the cook stood up, a vein popping on his forehead as he slapped the table with his hands. "Stingy? You're the weirdo here who doesn't mind sharing his bed with strangers!" He clenched his teeth, pressing out the next few words. "And what are you doing here, anyway, if you don't want to join the crew? Why don't you go and sit with _them_?" Sanji asked, pointing to the table of Coby, Conis, Kaya and Robin, the only people at EBU who hadn't joined a crew yet.

Zoro raised an eyebrow. "Is this a High School drama now and I'm not allowed to sit with the cool guys?"

"No, but the tables are reserved for crewmates, shithead," Sanji spit out.

"Ace often sits with you, doesn't he?"

"He's Luffy's brother and we have known him for months! I don't even know you and yet you act as if we've been friends for ages!"

Zoro raised an eyebrow. "We're roommates, aren't we?"

"Yeah, for two days! That doesn't mean we know each other!"

"Oh, I think I know you pretty well by now..." Zoro said. "You're an idiot in the presence of women and damn weak against them. You're a good cook but too damn cocky for your own good. You are a total priss, insecure about your sexuality and have a weird curled eyebrow. Your kicks are strong but you are a moron for not using your fists... see? I know you." Zoro grinned at the cook, his eyes glinting as Sanji gritted his teeth.

"Now you've done it, moss-head. I challenge you to a duel!" Sanji said, pointing his finger at Zoro who smirked. "Meet me at the gym at noon if you've got the guts!"

Everyone had stilled at the table and looked from one man to the other. Chopper and Usopp looked shocked while Nami and Luffy regarded the two men with interest.

Zoro smirked as he leaned back in his chair. "You're gonna eat your words, cook," he said, looking the very picture of confidence and superiority.

"Shishishi! That's gonna be so much fun!" Luffy finally said and stood up to look around. "Did you hear that, everyone? My cook is gonna fight my future swordsman at the gym at noon! Don't forget to come!"

Sanji was startled to see that the other students had gathered around their table as he had voiced his challenge but continued to glare at the smug idiot.

He would make the marimo regret ever insulting him!

Just as Sanji wanted to storm off to prepare for his battle, however, Nami grabbed hold of his sleeve and smirked up at him.

Normally, a smile from her would have sent him to heaven but when being mustered with such a predatory look, even Sanji had to swallow in fear.

"Ne, Sanji-kun..." Nami said sweetly, the evil glint in her eyes completely betraying the sound of her voice. "What was that about sleeping together?"

_Well, fuck..._

* * *

"Sanji, are you sure you want to fight him?" Usopp asked Sanji tentatively after breakfast.

They were walking down the hall to their first lesson that day: maths. Taught by an easily scared, white-haired professor who looked as if he had rather be anywhere else than there whenever he entered the classroom, that subject was considered to be 'fun time' by most of the students... which explained the three's leisured walk.

"Zoro was so incredibly strong against Kabaji..." Usopp said, shuddering and looking nervously around as if he feared to get attacked at any time.

"Waah! Sanji is gonna die!" Chopper cried at Sanji's other side and the chef twitched.

"Will you two stop it? I won't die! There is no way that bastard will beat me!" he yelled at them, ignoring the students who had stopped walking to look at him.

"But... but he is a monster, Sanji!" Usopp said, gesticulating wild with his arms. "You... you're strong but he has _three_ swords!"

"And muscles! Tons of muscles!" Chopper threw in.

"And muscles," Usopp repeated, nodding. "You... you should better tell him it was a joke or... or..."

Sanji gritted his teeth around his cigarette. "Are you kidding? I _won't_ run away! I'm more than a match for him... we've fought _twice_ before!"

"B-But that wasn't a proper duel! When he has an audience... don't you think he'll be rougher? Kabaji was pretty beat up, yesterday..."

Chopper nodded. "Two cuts to his chest, three haematoma on his shoulder and torso. He... he didn't try to kill Kabaji but... you've been pretty mean to Zoro, Sanji."

"_I _was mean? He insulted me!"

"But he only said the truth about yo-" Usopp's talk was stopped by a face full foot, leaving his nose painfully bend.

Poor Usopp's bruises didn't even have time to heal that day...

"Shut up!" Sanji said as he pulled back his leg. "He is a damn bastard! He is arrogant, has no manners at all and does nothing but eating, sleeping and training. What's so good about a guy like that, anyway?"

Usopp frowned. "Aren't you a bit too harsh? Zoro is a bit rough but... I think he is pretty cool."

"Me too! Me too!" Chopper said excitedly. "He protected Usopp and me from Kidd yesterday, remember?"

Sanji scowled as he recalled the events from a day before.

After Kidd, Luffy, Ace and Law had been beaten up by Marco, Kidd was trembling with rage and remembered that he had promised to 'play' with Usopp and Chopper that day. Recognising the danger, Luffy and Sanji had wanted to stop Kidd but Zoro had been faster.

He had stepped in front of the trembling Chopper and said, "_I don't know what's going on, but you should know that I definitely would never serve under any captain who harasses the weak. That's just a sign of weakness itself."_

To say that Kidd had been pissed would be an understatement but to everyone's surprise, his want to have Zoro join him seemed to be greater than his rage for once and reluctantly, Kidd had stepped down.

"_You're lucky this time,"_ he had growled to Chopper and Usopp. "_But you better watch your backs. I'll get my revenge... be it one way or the other."_

"He didn't _really_ save you," Sanji said stubbornly as his walk down memory-lane had ended. "Kidd still wants to get back at you guys."

"But thanks to him, we're safe for now, aren't we? And that he had stepped in to help... isn't that good enough, anyway? Kidd is pretty scary... he-... he doesn't scare _me_, of course!" Usopp said, his knees trembling. "But I don't know anyone else who would have done that for near strangers... well, apart from Luffy and you."

Sanji frowned. Was Usopp right? Were they really that similar?

Snorting, Sanji looked around to see if Paulie was anywhere nearby and then took out a cigarette, lighting it up in the middle of the hallway.

It was a joke... Zoro and him were as different as night and day.

The few similarities between them were hardly significant, were they?

_...were they? _

* * *

Zoro was surprised to see that many students had gathered at the gym. Duels seemed to be among everyone's favourite activities at school... or rather: they had festival like status.

He cringed as he took in the colourful banners with either his or Sanji's name scribbled on them, listened to songs that were seemingly especially composed for their fight and glanced over booths full of merchandise ready for purchase. Had they done all that really in just a few hours?

Some of the banners even had jolly roger on them that were obviously designed after Sanji's and his appearance (one with three swords, the other with a curled eyebrow).

Zoro frowned. Mad... it was completely, utterly mad.

Even principal Iceburg and his pet mouse were present. Looking down at his students from a big and throne-like stool, he looked like a king, waiting for his knights to fight for the heart of a fair maiden and every now and then patting his mouse.

Zoro snorted. He had heard that the principal was a bit eccentric, but this was a just too much.

Letting his eyes wander, Zoro saw the Straw Hat's standing at the side lines. Usopp, Chopper and Luffy waved enthusiastically at him as they noticed his look and Zoro's mouth twitched.

Shouldn't they be on Sanji's side?

Nami seemed to have the same thought as she was beginning to beat all three of them up while screaming at them.

She was either a better fighter than Zoro had estimated or, like the cook, those three idiots were just completely defenceless against her.

Speaking of the blond... he still hadn't come out of the dressing room and Zoro assumed he was going for a great entrance. Maybe planning a pose to entice the 'ladies'?

Zoro grimaced.

How could one person alone be that smitten with the female population? Never one to be easily seduced or even charmed by women, Zoro had spent his entire life training for his goal.

His determination was endless to become the best, to reach the highest level of swordsmanship and have something to show for... all for her, the only woman in his life that truly mattered.

Taking a deep breath, Zoro tried not to think about his past... tried not to think about the terrible accident that had brought him here. Whenever he did, everything else seemed to be meaningless... anything apart from his training lost significance in face of his, of _their_ dream.

It was what his sensei had always told him to be careful of.

He had always said, Zoro had to live in the present instead of the past, that he was trying too hard and ended up harming his body that way... and apart from his will, his body was what he needed the most to become the best.

He had come to EBU to learn things he couldn't find in his small village... he came here to find what he was missing.

His sensei knew what it was but as it often was for men who walked down the path of the sword, Zoro had to find it on his own.

Maybe, just maybe, he already had a hunch of what it was... what he needed to reach his goal and make her proud. Maybe it was-

"Nakama," Luffy said behind him, startling Zoro out of his thoughts. Only little things like this, approaching Zoro without him realising, were what hinted at the captain's hidden strength.

"What?" Zoro asked, perplexed.

"We're nakama, Zoro," Luffy answered. "You and Sanji, too. You've to fight because it's your nature, but that's alright. It's in your blood... you've been made like this. It's your way of communicating." The younger man ended his words with a tilt of his head and a large grin. "I'm looking forward to the fight!"

Zoro was still staring after him as Luffy had already gone back to get an earful from Nami.

Nakama... was the answer really that easy? Were friends something that helped him reach his goals rather than hindering him?

That rubber man could be surprisingly insightful if he wanted to...

Rolling his shoulders until he heard a satisfying crack, Zoro smirked as Sanji came into the gym, dressed in his usual black suit and his pose nothing more than a heated glare in his direction.

Excitement flooded Zoro's body as he looked at the chef's confident stride, his eyes holding Zoro's gaze and making a shudder rock his body at the promised battle.

Maybe Luffy was right... fighting did come natural to them.

* * *

Five hours later, the gym had emptied to the point that only the Straw Hats, Law's and Kidd's crews remained.

Nami sighed as she watched the kicks and strikes with half-hearted interest. Zoro and Sanji had only needed to fight for half an hour until near to everyone in the audience knew that they were evenly matched... Iceburg-sensei had even declared it to be a truce after he had gotten bored two hours ago but that didn't keep Zoro and Sanji from continuing their fight with manic grins.

_Men..._ Nami thought peevishly. _Why don't they just go and compare their damn lengths!_

They had even gone and missed their afternoon classes because of this... Luffy had pulled the 'captain's order'-card, giving them no choice but to obey and watch on.

And if the faces of the other crews were any indication, then their captains had done the same thing.

Nami scowled as she looked at the clock. She hadn't even been able to make any money with betting... Paulie had found out about her plans and threatened to tell Iceburg if she continued with it.

Nami glowered.

The idiot was just peeved that he had lost all of his money at the last one.

Yawning, she looked at the other onlookers. The captains seemed to be the only ones left who were interested in the fight... Usopp and Chopper were playing cards next to her and Bepo kept annoying Penguin and Shachi with his complains about the heat.

Only Killer seemed slightly interested but you can hardly tell with that mask.

Her captain on the other hand was facing the fight and hadn't even bat an eyelash for quite a while now.

"Luffy," Nami said when her legs began to become numb. "Don't you think, it's time for us to stop this? It's been five hours!"

When she didn't get a reply, Nami frowned and put a hand on Luffy's shoulder to shake it. "Luffy, I'm talking to you! Don't you th-" Suddenly, Luffy fell off the bench and on his back. Blank eyes stared up at her, a big snot bubble repeatedly blowing up and deflating out of his nose.

Nami's eyebrow twitched. "_Don't sleep with your eyes open, idiot!_" she screamed, repeatedly hitting Luffy on the head until Usopp came to hold her back.

Law laughed. "You guys sure have a strange captain..." he said and Kidd snorted on his side.

"Do you think that you as a pervert and psychopath can talk, Trafalgar?"

"This psychopath is sharing a room with you, Eustass. You should be careful of what you say..." Law said, his eyes glinting dangerously at Kidd.

Kidd gritted his teeth but resigned to crossing his arms and glaring at Law.

Grinning, Law licked his lips and leaned forward so his lips nearly touched Kidd's ear. "That's better... good boy," he whispered but loud enough for everyone to hear and Kidd's face flushed. His whole body trembling, he clenched his fists hard enough that his knuckle turned white as barely restrained anger shook his body.

Nami who had been staring at the show in front of her and was still held off by Usopp, shook her head and said, "You can let go of me, Usopp. I'm gonna go for a walk..."

"But Luffy said to stay here and watch!"

"He is breaking his own rule, isn't he?" Nami said, pointing at the now puffy-faced and passed out captain. "I won't be long... just need a bit of fresh air." She was already on her way out at her last words, ignoring the long-nose's protests.

Nami sighed deeply as she was finally out of the gym and the sunlight of a setting sun greeted her on the outside. Blinking, she placed a hand over her eyes and looked at the vast horizon.

Going back was just a lie to get out of that place... she had no plans of doing that. Watching a fight like that was nothing more than a waste of time in her opinion.

Stretching her arms upwards to get a bit of feeling back into her bones, Nami went off in direction of her room. At this time of the day, most of the students should be either in their rooms, the common room or trying to sneak their way into town, leaving the rest of the school mostly vacated.

Nami still had that book about navigation in her room, though, and ignoring Luffy's order did seem a bit wrong... maybe she should get the book and just go back to-

"_You should be a bit more careful, Nico Robin."_

Her heart speeding up, Nami pressed her body against the wall as she heard Kaku's voice just as she was about to round the corner.

"_I don't know what you're talking about... I only taught them the basic, common knowledge. Nothing people like you would consider unnecessary or dangerous." _

Robin was the one who answered and Nami bit her lip at the defensive sound of her voice. She had never heard Robin talk like that before...

"_Y__ou weren't supposed to talk about the war. Didn't we tell you to avoid any and all topic that could show the government in a bad light?"_

"_Then what am I supposed to teach? Do you want me to lie? To hide the facts?"_

"_No, but the government isn't pleased with your work. Shanks can't always protect you, Nico Robin. And we don't want a repeat of Ohara, do we?"_

"_Nothing has changed, has it? Even after all these years, you're still threatening people with the Buster Call!"_

"_You know I don't like it but I'm telling you this in your best interest: The times are changing and you should decide which side you're on, Nico-san. Before it's too late..."_

As the voices quieted down, Nami put a hand over her mouth, her heart slowly calming down from its rampage in her chest.

Kaku threatened Robin, the government interfered with her teaching and... the Buster Call?

What on Earth had she just witnessed?

* * *

"That was a good one, shitty marimo!" Sanji said, panting as he held the side where Zoro had struck him with the blunt side of his sword.

"Your last kick wasn't that bad either, curly brow," Zoro replied, rolling the shoulder where he had received the kick. "This is more fun than I expected... I could go on for hours!"

"So can I, moss-head. Let's see what you've go-"

"_Will you stop it already!_" Nami cried out as she suddenly appeared next to them and hit their heads with her fists. With a thump, Zoro and Sanji landed face first on the ground where they stayed unmoving, a matching pair of big bumps simultaneously building on their heads.

"Woah! That's so cool, Nami!" Chopper cried from his place on the bench, his eyes sparkling. "You won!"

Law looked less enthusiastic at the unusual outcome. Flicking his tongue, he said, "What a joke..." and strolled out of the gym, his crew following close behind.

With a last glare at Nami, Kidd and his crew did the same and left the Straw Hats alone in the gym.

"What's going on, Nami? I didn't think you would be back..." Usopp said as he walked up to her. "And why did you interrupt the fight?"

"No time to explain, Usopp. Go and wake Luffy up, I've got to tell you guys something... And I think we should get Ace, too... he should be in the common room now. Can you go and tell him to come to the canteen, Chopper?"

Always happy to be useful, Chopper nodded enthusiastically and went off to the dorms.

Usopp had meanwhile taken off one of his socks and was now looming over his unconscious captain, holding the steaming fabric under Luffy's nose.

Two seconds later, Luffy's eyes ripped open and he jumped up, crying, "Stiiiiinks! Stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks!" while holding his nose and running around in circles.

Nami held her forehead and sighed deeply.

What on Earth did she do to deserve an idiotic crew like that?

* * *

Dinner that evening was overshadowed by Nami telling the rest of her crew, Ace and Zoro what she had overheard.

They were sitting at their table, staring at its surface while their thoughts were racing.

Kalifa had cooked that evening and all the other students had already gone to their rooms, leaving the canteen to them to talk freely.

"Kaku is threatening dear Robin-chwan? I can't believe it..." Sanji said slowly.

"You think I'm lying?" Nami asked, frowning and Sanji held his hands up, his eyes widening.

"I- I would never ever even imply such a thing, Nami-swan! I know you have the purest of hearts and would never-"

"So, they are threatening Robin because they want her to be quiet about something? Should I beat them up?" Luffy asked, interrupting his cook and cracking his knuckles. His strawhat had slid over his eyes and like that, the usually cheerful guy looked quite menacing.

"That wouldn't be good, Luffy... Kaku is rumoured to be a part of CP9 and they have already got their eyes on you and the other Supernovas. Attacking them directly would be a death sentence... they would kill you and make it look like an accident," Ace said.

Luffy frowned. "I won't be killed that easily..."

"You can't know that. You're strong but CP9 is sneaky..."

"I've got Nami and Usopp... they're sneakier," Luffy said, pointing to them, his expression unchanging as Nami hit him for that remark.

"In any case, I want to help Robin! She sounded pretty distraught when she was talking to Kaku..." she said and pinched Luffy's cheek, then pulled back her hand to stretch his skin. "As stupid as this guy is, I agree with him that we can help Robin."

"And what do you want to do?" Ace asked with raised eyebrows.

"Wobin will woin our crew ow course!" Luffy murmured and Nami let go of his skin which snapped back and made him nearly fall off his chair.

"But how do you want to get her to join?" Usopp asked. "She refused when you asked her that first time, right?"

"He already asked her?" Zoro asked Sanji who at next to him.

"Yeah... but that was just after she had enrolled here. She was suspicious of anyone and anything then... I think we would have a bit of a better chance now."

"It's decided then," Luffy said, grinning ear to ear. "Robin will join and we'll watch out for her. We're nakama, after all."

Nakama... there was that word again. The captain did seem to use it rather casually.

Zoro watched Luffy with raised eyebrows and as he grinned back, the swordsman wondered not for the first time, if these strange people were already considering him to be one of them... maybe Sanji had been right and it was weird that he always sat with them? Was he getting into something, he couldn't get out of again?

After a few more minutes of discussing how to breach the topic with Robin, everyone became quiet at the table. Even Luffy didn't say a word as he pushed his strawhat over his eyes and leaned back in his chair, the atmosphere suddenly completely changing around him.

"Yo, swordsman," Sanji said, making Zoro pull his gaze away from the younger man. "Let's go back to our room... it's not like more talking will do us any good and we still got a ton of homework to do."

"... yeah, alright," Zoro said and after saying his good-byes, he stood up to follow Sanji out of the hall.

"I've been thinking..." Sanji said tentatively as they walked down the hallway. "That was a pretty good fight today, wasn't it?"

"Yeah... it wasn't bad. I've got to admit that you're better than I thought..."

"Same goes to you. Our strength seems to... match," Sanji said, letting the last word hang heavily in the air between them.

After a rather uncomfortable silence, Zoro looked at him. "Maybe we could spar from time to time again like this?"

"I would like that, yeah," Sanji said, his face splitting into a radiant grin.

Zoro frowned as he saw the happy expression on the cook's face. "Huh, that's new..."

"What?"

"That you can smile at me... I've only seen you scowl, rant, scream and kick so far," Zoro replied.

Sanji's eyes turned to slits and Zoro grinned as he saw how the blond's whole body began to flare up. He grew to like that strong reaction to his teasing...

"I could kick your ass instead, you know..." Sanji said, his voice challenging and Zoro took the bait without batting an eyelash.

"You can't, curly brow. We might be evenly matched but I'm still better than you."

That remark had sealed the deal. Sanji's eyes began to flame up.

"That doesn't even make sense, you stupid swordsman!" the blond spat out.

"Did you just call me stupid, idiot cook?" Zoro returned.

"You can count on it, marimo!"

"Alright, let's decide this here and now!"

"You're on!"

And thus, the fight began...

* * *

"What on Earth happened to you guys?" Usopp asked the next day, his eyes wide as Sanji and Zoro entered the hall.

Their skin was completely covered in rope marks, making them look like two-legged zebras.

"We called a truce yesterday," Sanji answered, scowling as he lit up a cigarette. "Paulie had caught us, though."

After he had taken a first drag of his cigarette, the chef left without another word to go and prepare breakfast and Usopp turned to Zoro instead. "I don't even want to know, do I?"

"You don't, no."

When he had grabbed himself something to eat, Zoro watched the canteen's entrance as one by one, EBU's students walked in. Thanks to his first Combat Class gaining him near celebratory status, Zoro had already met near to every student in his year and there was one thing he had realised in a heartbeat: his new school was the maddest place on Earth.

"Who the hell is that girl?" Zoro asked the newly arrived Nami, eyes wide as he stared at a pink-haired woman stuffing her face with alarming speed. "She eats more than Luffy!"

"That's Jewelry Bonney," Nami replied. "She is another Supernova and..." She scrunched up her nose as sauce dripped on the napkin Bonney had so thoughtfully stuffed into her shirt. "...a real pig," Nami added.

Zoro frowned as he continued to stare at the girl.

Weird... everything was so weird at this place. There were fruit users everywhere and Law's power hadn't even been the strangest one.

He had even seen how one of his classmates turned into a frickin' dinosaur!

Still frowning, his eyes wandered on. Other unusual characters were a guy who could be the boss of a Mafia gang, a polar bear who seemed to be part of Law's crew and who he remembered to watch his fight until the end yesterday, a man with wings who, according to Nami, came from an island in the Grand Line that floats in the sky and another man who had teeth that looked like piano keys.

Yeah... weird.

"And what about him?" Zoro asked, pointing at a man who busied himself with tarot cards instead of his meal.

"Basil Hawkins," Nami said. "People call him the 'Magician'. He's obsessed with the future, signs and all that. He scares me a bit to be honest." She shuddered before going on, "His predictions are frightening accurate. You shouldn't let him tell you your fortune."

Zoro shrugged. "I don't believe in things like that anyway. I'm making my own future."

"Well said, sexy guy," a deep voice said right into his ear and, holding a hand over his ear, Zoro jumped up and blushed.

"Ace! How the hell did you creep up on me?"

Ace laughed as he sat down in a chair next to Zoro. "Skills, man, skills. I'm a good creeper..." Ace said and wriggled his eyebrows while Zoro's own one twitched.

Give it to Ace that he could make a line like _that_ sound suggestive.

"That was quite a nice reaction, though... You into guys, Zoro?" Ace asked. It wasn't even the first time that he had been asked that but like the other times, Zoro just turned away and crossed his arms, cursing the heat rising to his face. Ace had a way to make him... squirmish.

Realising, he once again wouldn't get a reply, the Firefist shrugged and turned to Nami. "You giving this guy the heads up about the other students?" he asked her.

Nami nodded. "Yeah. Luffy asked me to help him if I could... he is dead set on making him a part of our crew."

"Then you don't have a choice, mate," Ace laughed as he turned to Zoro. "My brother's will is like a force of nature... no one can escape it."

He opened his mouth to say something else but a gong sounded and a deep, mechanic voice called him to the staff office.

"Ah, that must be Marco," Ace said, grinning. "Sorry, folks. Gotta go. I'll see you later, handsome."

And before he could react, Ace had kissed Zoro on the cheek and went cackling out of the canteen while the swordsman cursed.

Glowering, Zoro wiped his cheek. "Is he always that annoying?"

"Nah, normally he is worse," Nami said. "Well, anything else you want to know?"

Bonney chose that moment to order a giant steak (the cook flew over to deliver it with hearts flying everywhere) and Zoro's attention was back at the girl.

"How the hell can she eat so much, anyway? Did she eat a Devil's Fruit, too?"

"Yeah, but her power has nothing to do with her figure. Bonney claims she has great metabolism," Nami said and made a face. It was obvious that she wasn't exactly thrilled to talk about Bonney or the eating topic again... Zoro supposed it was a girl thing.

Shrugging, he let his eyes fly around the room for the last time, thinking about the orange-haired girl and her crew. After her try to get him indebted to her, Zoro had realised that Nami could be a real bitch if she wanted to. Usopp and Chopper, he noticed, were extremely careful around her and the cook had nearly broken out into tears when she had glared at him... well, that guy seemed to be more than soft on women so that was probably an universal thing and not limited to Nami.

Nevertheless, the girl's personality had an edge that although annoying, Zoro still respected in a woman. She wasn't the damsel in distress type and could give a guy a run for his money if she wanted to.

And among all of that, she was a great source of information and information was invaluable if you wanted to survive in EBU.

If Zoro had known about another pink-haired girl's power before, he could've avoided a very embarrassing situation that morning...

His eyes suddenly stopped at two figures in the back of the big hall. Law was talking to Kidd, a big smirk on his face while the red-head clenched his fists at his sides and a vein popped on his forehead.

"Those two captains... they're roommates, aren't they? Are they together?"

Unfortunately, Nami had chosen just that moment to take a big sip from her orange juice. She started to cough and Usopp, who had just come back from the kitchen with a full plate, sympathetically patted her back. "W-What makes you think that?"

"Well, Law is obviously gay... and he keeps annoying Kidd, doesn't he?" Zoro asked before going on, "Kidd usually threatens people who do that but he isn't doing anything to that guy... he seems to hold himself back all the time."

"Well, I see where you're getting at but Kidd not doing anything is..." Nami started and shook her head. "There was this... _incident_ a few moths ago and Kidd hadn't been able to stand up to Law ever since."

"Incident?" Zoro asked.

Nami and Usopp looked at each other and then leaned towards Zoro over the table, beckoning him to do the same.

"You know how Law has the ability to... cut certain body-parts off without killing?" Nami asked and Zoro nodded. He still remembered all to well how he had experienced Law's Devil's Fruit powers on his own body...

"Well, Kidd had done something to _really_ piss Law off," Usopp continued. "Some people think it had something to do with his hat but I know for a fact that Kidd has stolen Law's most precious possession: a golden scalpel from none other than Jack the Ripper, the most vicious pirate who has ever crossed the legendary-"

"Alright, stop your lies right about there, Usopp," Nami said, her eyebrow twitching dangerously. "Or I'm gonna do what Law has done _without_ his powers... got it?"

The long-nose blanched but didn't say another word and Zoro felt himself getting irritated. What the _hell_ had Law done?

"Good," Nami said, nodding at the welcome silence. "So, Law has these powers, was really pissed off and... he stole something from Kidd."

"He stole something from him? What?" Zoro asked, frowning before something clicked inside his brain. The way Nami had threatened Usopp just now... "Wait a minute... you don't mean..."

Grinning, Nami nodded. "Exactly. Law had cut off his little Jolly Roger and hit it somewhere for a week. Dunno how Kidd had done the necessary... you know, but he hadn't challenged Law again since then. And... well, Law had also gained a sort of power over him."

Zoro stared and resisted the urge to cover his crotch in a protective gesture. Usopp looked like he was doing the same. _Fuck! _The simple thought was enough to make his stomach curl. That Law guy was... _sick._

"How... did he get it back?"

"Oh, _that_ was tragic! He had to pass several tests to get it back and it's all thanks to the Great Captain Usopp that he had managed to-"

"Usopp..." Nami said dangerously and the long-nose froze. When he didn't make any attempts to continue his lies, Nami spoke on, "No one really knows what happened but everyone thinks Kidd had to promise Law something... like listening to him or whatever."

Zoro stared at them for a while before he said, "You guys do know that this school is a complete madhouse, yeah?"

Nami smirked. "Says the guy who needed three months to find the school, fights with three swords and is being called a 'demon' after his first day. I think you fit right in."

Zoro opened his mouth to retort something but closed it after a few seconds again. Damn, she was right... her mentioning his bad sense of direction had been a low blow, though.

Sighing, Zoro rubbed his sore shoulder. He was dead tired and the day had only started!

How long had he spent kneeling on the ground and feeling depressed after he had dared to step into the path of that pink-haired girl? That had been the main reason why Sanji and him had been late...

Sighing, Zoro looked with dismay at his empty plate and then turned around. "Oi, cook! Can I get another sandwich?" Zoro asked Sanji who was still busy at the counter. Feeding Luffy and Bonney seemed to be quite the task...

"We're out of toast, marimo," Sanji replied and with a grin, he added, "I'm so sorry to be alive!"

Blushing, Zoro growled and crossed his arms.

Another low blow... damn cook!

* * *

Zoro turned the plan of All Blue Central in his hands. He wanted to go into town to get a few new clothes and a mobile phone... preferable with GPS. He couldn't even tell which side was up and which down of the map.

Frowning, he drowned out the enraged voice of Paulie ("You! Eustass! Put on a shirt! And you! Nami! Even for the beach that bikini top would be too skimpy! How many times do I have to tell you not to wear a skirt that ends above the knees, Nico Robin? _Ah,_ wait! Not my jewelleries!" "Grab!" "_ARGH!_") and kept walking through EBU's halls.

Zoro just wanted to leave the building as he heard a deep voice shouting something at the gate.

"I'm here for your head, Straw Hat Luffy! Fight me!"

Zoro frowned as he stepped through a throng of people and saw that the voice belonged to a grey-haired man in about his thirties. He wore an open jacket and was smoking no less than three cigars.

"Oh, he is here again? That man never gives up..." Zoro heard someone say beside him and turned his head to look at Usopp.

"This guy did this before?" Zoro asked him.

"Yeah, about every week... He is a marine and challenges Luffy so he can arrest him. It's pointless, though. He doesn't even get to see him..."

Zoro frowned. "Doesn't see him? But if he challenges Luffy, then doesn't he-"

Zoro's words were cut off when a ball of fire flew above them and landed right in front of the grey-haired man. Flames soon turned to a human figure and Ace appeared before him in his usual outfit of short pants and orange hat. He grinned as he looked at the marine and the crowd cheered.

"Still coming here, Smokey? You should just give it up... I won't let you fight my little brother."

"I'm not here for you, Firefist," the marine replied but a small smile belied his words.

"You can't fool anyone," Ace said, his grin widening. "You know, you want my ass, Smoker... and not to arrest it. Well, maybe handcuffs are playing a role... I'm not too sure about your preferences."

Smoker glared as he took a metal staff out of his belt. "Say your prayers, Firefist."

Zoro's eyes widened as Smoker's body turned into smoke while Ace's became fire. "He's a fruit user, too?"

Usopp shrugged. "Yeah... and it's pretty useless to watch their fight. They always end it in a draw... well, it's smoke against fire, so..."

"And that Smoker always comes here to fight Luffy?"

"Well, that's his excuse... everyone knows by now that he's really coming for Ace. You saw his smile, didn't you?" Usopp said and went on without waiting for a reply. "Luffy was angry at Ace for fighting his battles at first but now he finds it funny."

After watching for a while, Zoro realised that Usopp was right... it was indeed pointless to watch the fight. Just like water against ice, no one of the two men was able to get the upper hand... too similar were both of their powers. That didn't seem to faze either of them, though.

Ace, for one, was grinning manically.

Scratching the back of his head, Zoro turned to Usopp. "Well, I'm off," he told him. "I need to buy a few things..."

"Be careful!" Usopp said with wide eyes. "People like us are often getting targeted in the city! Y-You should stay out of the back alleys... Krieg's men are everywhere!"

Zoro shrugged. "I'll manage. Tell blondie that I'll be late, alright?"

After Usopp nodded, Zoro walked through EBU's gate, eyes fixed on his map.

Five minutes later...

"So, this is one of those back alleys, Usopp was talking about, eh?" Zoro said as a group of pirates surrounded him. He snorted as he assessed their power with one look. "Just like the day I arrived... what a joke!"

Placing his white katana in his mouth and drawing his two other swords, Zoro moved into a fighting stance.

"_Tora Gari!"_ he cried and moved, incapacitating all the foes in front of him. Then he turned around and slashed at the rest, his body dodging every attack directed at him with ease.

"Che... what a waste of time," Zoro said after removing his white katana from his mouth and looking at his enemies lying unmoving on the ground. He just wanted to take out his map again to see if he could figure out how to read it after all, when all of his senses alerted him to another presence.

He dodged the blow of a metal staff, a thin man stumbling past him as he moved out of the way.

"Who the hell are you?" Zoro asked as the man fell to the ground on his own, panting heavily. "You aren't a pirate, are you?"

The man was thin enough that his bones stuck out in various places. His skin was pale and only slightly flushed of what seemed to have been a very straining activity for him.

He pulled himself up at Zoro's words, turning his head at him and looking at the swordsman with vile contempt. "I'm not a stinking pirate!" he yelled at Zoro, his fingers clawing at the ground beneath his hands as she shook with rage and frailty. "You're from that damn school! My family... my poor family... everyone is gone. Pirates attacking... Pirates studying at a school... unbelievable... my family... my poor family..."

Zoro frowned as the man rambled on. His eyes, formerly clear, had become clouded with old memories and nightmares of the past.

"He is one of the victims of ten years ago..." a voice said behind him and Zoro was surprised to see Ace as he turned around. "You've heard about it? How pirates began to run rampage and the alliance was endangered?"

"That was the reason for the emperors to stay at All Blue Central instead of moving around, wasn't it?" Zoro asked, following Ace with his eyes as he walked up to him.

"Yeah... pops and the others realised that they needed a bit more stability to keep the different crews in check. The world would've sunk into chaos, otherwise. But for some people, it was too late... there are many like him who have lost their families together with their sanity."

"Can't we do anything?"

Ace shook his head. "We've tried to in the past, but... there is nothing we can do to make up for their loss."

Zoro watched the man rambling for a while before he said, "What are you doing here, anyway? What about your fight?"

Ace shrugged. "I told Smokey that I had to follow another piece of hot ass... I've to go and talk to Pops about Nico-san, anyway. You don't mind me stalking you, do you?"

Zoro shrugged. "If you keep your hands to yourself..."

"Can't promise anything..." Ace said, leering and Zoro's eyebrow twitched.

"Then you can show me the way to the city, at least... I think I took a wrong turn somewhere."

"A wrong turn? The city is in the complete opposite direction, babe!"

* * *

Robin watched as the remaining smoke cleared up around EBU and the school's buildings became visible again. She was standing on the roof of the highest tower, the school's big bell hanging silently behind her as she rested her arms on the railing to look at the horizon.

EBU wasn't that far from the coast and from the tower you had a beautiful view of the vast sea.

It was her favourite place... the only one where she was able to relax and think properly.

Twenty years ago, just before the War of the Best, she had lost her friends, her island, her... family. Everything because the government was afraid of them and their knowledge. They feared her, feared what she could do and reveal to the world.

Knowledge was power... and those who knew too much became a threat.

She had been called a 'demon', a 'monster', was being treated as if she wanted to destroy the world and hunted down like an animal.

Her hand reached into the pocket of her jacket and closed around a a slightly crumpled, old photograph.

It was a high risk she was taking... a risk that could end up badly for her and the people around her. But Kaku's threat that day had only served to spike her determination.

The lost history... the very thing the government was fearing the most. She wanted to find it... wanted to use it and show the people what the government had been hiding all of these years.

And yet, this place... EBU was just another cage laid out for her and but it was the first place she had been staying at for a longer time. For twenty years, it was the only place she could truly call home and... she began to like the people around her, began to care about them.

The Buster Call... such a high risk, was it really worth it?

As tears threatened to come, Robin tightened her hold of the photograph in her pocket and forced them back, remembering an old friend's words...

"_Derishishishishi!" _

_TBC_


	3. Chapter 3

_Over 9000 words again... *head desk* I'm hopeless... XD_

_I'll try to update every two weeks now and go for Tuesday... like this time, it might take one or two days longer to make some necessary edits, though._

_That's really the fastest I can manage at this chapter length... I'm already spending every free minute on writing and with uni and my part-time job, I just don't have more time._

_Ah, and I've got a tumblr now! I'm not doing much... just reblogging stuff and occasionally writing a short drabble to a pic (I've only done one so far :)). The link is on my profile page... would love to see you there! :D_

_Without further ado..._

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece.**

* * *

**Chapter 3: The 5th **

After taking the weak man to an allied doctor and bringing Zoro safely to the city (that guy's sense of direction was too hilarious!), Ace made his way to his captain.

The Whitebeards' headquarters were located on the top of a cliff in the far east of All Blue Central. Seeing as most of the crew had spent a big part of their lives on the Moby Dick, they had asked two pure-blooded giants to place it there so they could continue to live on board and look over the sea.

The four other main ships still set sail and brought treasures and stories back to the Moby Dick but Whitebeard, as one of the four emperors, had to remain in All Blue Central.

He was often talking about the old times and missed the sea, fights and adventures. Not one to worry his precious sons, Whitebeard always told them it was enough to have his family around him but whenever a division came back and told everyone about their experiences, he had a look of longing in his eyes.

Bag draped over his shoulder, Ace approached the Whitebeards' main ship. The Moby Dick loomed proudly on the cliff, looking over the wide ocean, it had crossed once before, and dreaming about hitting the waves once more...

Grinning, Ace walked up the plank, greeting Thatch who was already on his way to meet him. A few other crewmates were standing on deck as well, waving happily to Ace and greeting the second division commander as always with much noise and catcalls as he waved back.

"Yo, man! How is it going?" Ace asked Thatch who grimaced at the question.

"Better, now that you're here! We're playing poker and Izo is completely ripping us off!" Thatch replied, laughing and holding the back of his head in embarrassment. Side by side, they entered the ship.

"You're still trying to beat him?" Ace asked, laughing. "No one beats Izo, man."

"I dunno... Teach had been pretty close last time. He isn't here, though."

Ace frowned. "Again? What's he up to, lately? I rarely see him..."

"Maybe he has found a treasure map again?" Thatch said and scratched his chin. "As his commander, you should talk to him, though... He had always been a bit secretive but lately, he rarely shows up on board..." Suddenly, his face lit up. "Oh, but you won't believe it, Ace! My division has found a new Devil's Fruit!"

"Seriously?" Ace asked excitedly. "Which one? And did you eat it yet?"

Rubbing the back of his neck, Thatch looked sheepishly at him. "Well, we haven't _really_ found it yet... Just got a map that shows the way. We're heading out tomorrow."

"Oh, that sucks, man! I wanted to introduce you to that new guy at school! Really hot stuff, I tell you!" Ace said.

"You know I don't swing that way..." Thatch replied, scrunching up his nose, his strange styled hair swinging in time to him shaking his head.

"So what?" Ace asked indignantly. "Zoro is still pretty cool! I think you would like him..."

"Well, maybe I'll pay your school a visit when I'm back... Hey, did you hear what Jozu did last week?"

They went on together until they reached the door to Whitebeard's room, Thatch talking on and on about the things Ace had missed while he was gone.

"Well, I'll go back to Izo until you've finished talking to Pops..." Thatch said.

"You won't beat him, Thatchy," Ace replied, laughing and his friend shrugged.

"Still gotta try, though. Ah, once you're done, come to the deck and have a drink with us! It has been pretty boring without you. You've only come to talk to the old man these days..."

"Sure thing. See you later, mate!" Ace said and waved goodbye. Once Thatch went back up on deck, Ace knocked on Whitebeard's door and waited for the gruff "Enter!".

"Ace! How is school, my son?" Whitebeard greeted him as he entered the room. Despite the joy of seeing his 'father' again, Ace willed a serious expression on his face.

"Mostly good, but... we've got a bit of a situation there, Pops."

* * *

Nami sat on her bed, tapping her foot nervously while she waited for her older roommate to arrive. After another talk with Luffy, she had agreed to talk to Robin and let her know what she had heard and how they were ready to help her.

But how was she supposed to start the conversation? Telling Robin she had eavesdropped on her wasn't exactly among the five favourite things Nami would like to do, especially seeing as the woman was determined to be quite secretive with her affairs.

Nami chewed on her underlip as she tried to think of several ways of confessing. Robin seemed to be trapped by CP9 just as Nami had been by Arlong... a forced agreement holding her back from fulfilling her dreams. Probably no one could understand the woman's feelings better than her, but... where could she start?

Nami's head shot up when she heard a key turn in the lock and the door opened. A tired looking Robin entered, stopping abruptly when she noticed Nami sitting on the bed.

"Ah, navigator-san... you want to talk to me?"

'Navigator-san' was Robin's nickname for Nami. Despite her serious attitude, she had a nickname for nearly every student, given to them according to either their positions in crews, special abilities or outward appearances.

Nami frowned as Robin shot her an indulging smile. "You know that I want to speak to you?"

"Well, the way you're sitting there and watching me like a hawk... it's quite obvious, I'm afraid. And I think I know the reason for it as well... You have overheard the conversation between square-nose-san and me, I suppose?"

Nami gaped. Had she been caught?

"Don't be that surprised, navigator-san," Robin said as she sat down on her bed in the corner, crossing her legs and smiling at Nami. "I've spent years escaping the government's clutches... I know how to notice someone lurking in the corner. And square-nose-san has noticed as well, I'm afraid. You're quite lucky that he is one of the more decent members of CP9 or he would've eliminated you on the spot."

Nami swallowed. She had heard rumours about CP9, one crueller than the other, but for them to be true... "Th-Then you know, Robin... Luffy has asked me to-"

"If it's about asking me to join your crew again then I have to decline for a second time. As much as I respect your captain, I have no desire of becoming a pirate."

Nami looked at the floor. "But you need help, Robin. They're threatening you, aren't they?" she said and stood up to sit down next to Robin, taking one of her hands into hers. "I know that the government seems like an enemy you can't even hope to defeat but Luffy has helped me, too, you know? I've seen him do things I hadn't thought possible and... you can trust him. You can trust _us_, Robin."

Nami smiled as Robin looked at her. "Let us help you," she said.

The navigator could practically see the woman's confusing emotions inside her eyes. They continued to look at each other and Nami thought for a moment, Robin would draw back again and try to hide from them and the world but then the older woman sighed. "Maybe... you're right. I do need help but... It's the government we are talking about... How can you possibly fight a power like that?"

Nami grinned, her eyes glinting. "We can and we will."

After a while, Robin shook her head. "You're too naïve..." she said and stood up, her back turned to Nami. "You're underestimating them, Nami-san... You haven't seen what I saw!"

"Robin, I know that it won't be easy but I'm sure we can protect you-"

"It's too dangerous!" Robin turned around and screamed at her. Nami jumped at the unusual raise of her voice, her heart racing as she stared at Robin with wide eyes. "The Buster Call-... I don't want to lose-..." Robin shook her head and sighed. "I can't do this, Nami. I don't want to drag you into this," she said and then left the room, ignoring Nami's cries for her to stop.

* * *

Sanji sighed as he picked up the dirty T-shirt with two fingers. Scrunching up his nose, he threw the stinking fabric into the next bin.

Stupid swordsman... leaving his dirty clothes lying around in his sacred room! That guy had really turned his life upside down...

Hearing a knock on his door, Sanji said, "Come in!" without even turning around.

Scowling, he regarded Zoro's socks that were lying on the ground with disgust. Sanji would be needing gloves to even _touch_ those things!

His door opened and Usopp came in. The long-nose frowned as he saw Sanji glaring at the socks as if they had just insulted his honour in the most dreadful way.

"Sanji? Is this a bad time, or...?"

"Nah, I'm just trying to find out how to get rid of these things without having to cut off my hands afterwards... What is it, Usopp?" Sanji asked, finally turning around to face his friend.

"Oh, just wanted to tell you that Zoro has gone into town and will be late."

"Did he go alone?" Sanji asked, frowning. "That guy can't even find the toilet without help..."

Shaking his head, Usopp grinned. "Don't worry, Ace went after him."

"Oh, right. I've heard some shouting... Did Smoker come again?"

"Yeah," Usopp answered. "He was pretty pissed off when Ace went after Zoro instead of fighting him, though."

Sanji shook his head. "Zoro should be careful not to get in Smoker's way..." he said. "That old guy gets off on his fights with Ace, I tell you."

"Never thought it would turn out like that after Logue Town..." Usopp said thoughtfully. "Smoker is downright obsessed with catching Luffy after he escaped him!"

"Yeah, that surprised me, too... Must have been quite a blow to his pride."

"Well, if Luffy graduates, he can't be arrested any more, so Smoker has to catch him before that."

"Good thing that we've got Ace on our side..." Sanji said as he went to open a drawer on his desk and pulled out a folded plastic bag. "I don't think Luffy is ready to beat him yet."

"Yeah," Usopp said and then they stayed silent for a moment until he spoke again. "Hey, you and Zoro... are you guys okay now?"

Sanji used the bag to pick up the stinking socks and threw them into the bin. "Why do you ask?"

"W-Well, there is you throwing away his stuff, for example..." Usopp said as he watched Sanji picking up a pair of sport shoes and throwing them on top of the socks into the bin.

"Well, we've a truce and all."

Usopp scratched his nose. "And with 'truce' you mean..."

"'We will neither kill each other nor break any bones if we can help it'," Sanji replied automatically as if reading it off paper. "Oh, and we will make sure to avoid to fight in places where we can run into Paulie... bondage is getting old real fast without the pleasure part."

Usopp slammed his hands over his ears. "Don't say stuff like that, Sanji! My virgin ears can't take it!"

Sanji grinned. "Virgin? Didn't you tell everyone who didn't want to hear it, how you're known as 'Casanova' in all of South Blue last week?"

"... O-Of course, I'm just being modest here, Sanji! The Great Captain Usopp has had indeed sex with more women than he can count!" Usopp said, placing a hand on his chest and turning up his head that his long nose pointed proudly in the air. "Every possible position and practice did I try out! If you have any question, just come to me! I know everything!"

Still grinning, Sanji lay an arm around Usopp's shoulders. "I knew I could count on you!" he said. "About bondage... I always wondered how-"

"Ah, my poor virgin ears!" Usopp cried out again and, hands on his ears, he ran out of the room, Sanji's laughter following him outside.

Smiling, the cook shook his head at his friend. It was too much fun to tease him!

After savouring the moment for a bit, he went back to the matter at hand: Getting rid of the marimo's infested stuff.

Zoro's bag lay in a corner but Sanji was only interested in the carelessly discarded things... he wouldn't even touch the bag with a stick, if he could help it.

Scowling, he looked at the still messy room.

Sanji loved his place tidy and clean and it just so seemed that the swordsman was neither of those two. Not only clothes, also weights and textbooks were scattered all over the place and the only thing Zoro seemed to handle with care were his swords.

Those either remained tucked away in his haramaki or, when he was sleeping, lay next to his futon. That idiot seemed to even shower with his swords and Sanji kept wondering why they held such importance to him.

Not only that, but also a few other things about the swordsman peaked his curiosity... the reason for his ambition that made him go as far as spending every free minute training or why Zoro had even come to East Blue U. Sanji had often tried to ask him, but hadn't found a casual enough way that wouldn't reveal his strange interest in the other man... he had his pride, after all.

At least, the 'truce' was keeping them from near killing each other. They had found more or less a way to co-exist, a way to be around the other and talking without breaking into fights every damn minute.

The guy still managed to annoy the hell out of Sanji, though, and they often had to find a place for a quick match...

And maybe that was exactly what the cook had needed in his life:

A perfect punching bag that punched back and wasn't all that breakable.

Another thing that didn't bode all too well was his captain's decision to make Zoro join their crew. While Zoro would be a perfect addition to their team, Sanji wasn't exactly thrilled by the thought of him joining them.

Reason number one for that was that he would be having a sort of rival in the team (the ladies seemed to be rather interested in him, after all) and reason number two...

Sanji still got damn nervous around the man. His gut kept telling him to run when the marimo was near and running away was something that Sanji nearly loathed as much as wasting food.

Well, Zoro was obviously not interested in joining them but the bundle of energy that was his Captain rarely accepted no for an answer.

Sanji still remembered how Luffy had reacted when the cook had declined his invitation at first.

"_I'm refusing your refusal!"_ Luffy had said. "_You'll go with us to East Blue U and become our crew's cook!"_

And after Luffy had beaten up Krieg and saved his father's shitty restaurant, Sanji had no choice but to accept his invitation.

It had been similar for Usopp and Nami.

Luffy had helped Usopp and his hometown... had even saved beautiful Kaya's life.

And Nami... Luffy had saved more than just her life... much more.

Yeah, it was impossible to escape Luffy's clutches. The thing that worried Sanji most, though, were the two _other_ captains who were just as determined as the rubber-brain to make Zoro join their crews.

As much as Sanji liked to fight with the marimo-head, he didn't really fancy him joining a different crew and then be a _real_ enemy in the future.

Sanji shuddered as he thought about how it would be, if Zoro was to join either Law or Kidd...

He was rather attached to his limbs, after all.

* * *

Paulie cursed as he swept the hallway, every movement hurting his most sensitive area. "Nico Robin, that damn pervert!" he mumbled under his breath, remembering the attack on his precious balls all too well.

Working as a janitor wasn't by far his dream job... especially not at a place where that many young people were running around in barely existent clothes, but when Iceburg-san had decided to take over the school, he had needed help and Paulie was too loyal not to go with him.

He could deal with the cleaning, but thanks to the student body consisting to about fifty percent out of Fruit users, the damage on the building was always great and Paulie had it tough to keep up with the repairs.

Well, and ever since that guy with the green hair had entered the school... Paulie growled.

His job was slowly but surely driving him insane.

Iceburg-san had promised him that help would be coming soon, though... some guy who had majored in craftsmanship in his youth and would be joining the school as a student.

Still cursing, Paulie continued to sweep the floor until a shudder ran down his back. Tensing at once, his knuckles turned white as he tightened his grip on his broom.

"It's you..." he said without turning back and behind him, a man with long black hair and goatee, a pigeon sitting on his shoulder, stepped out from behind the corner.

"Paulie," the man acknowledged him and Paulie grimaced in return.

Rob Lucci was the only known member of CP9 so far... a group sent by the government to supervise the school. Officially, he was the _only_ member, of course, but no one was dumb enough to believe that lie.

Just like everyone else, Paulie had his suspicions of who else was part of the organisation... and Kaku and Jyabura were on the top of his list.

"What are you creeping around in the hallway for, Lucci? Shouldn't you be scaring the hell out of kids somewhere?" he said, glaring at the impassive man.

As always, Lucci's cold expression didn't change. "My orders are none of your concern."

"Orders... you would kill your own mother, if the government ordered you to do that, wouldn't you?"

Paulie's whole body tensed as Lucci walked past him and whispered only for him to hear, "What if I already did?"

His hold on his broom nearly painful now, Paulie watched the man go.

Even Death himself couldn't be scarier...

* * *

A few hours later, Zoro came back to his and Sanji's room, carrying two big bags in his hands.

"There you are... found what you were looking for?" Sanji asked from his place at the desk where he was working on his homework.

"More or less... I've got a mobile phone and some new clothes."

"Good..." Sanji replied, grinning cheekily at Zoro and pointing at the now empty bin. "I threw your old ones away."

"You _what_?"

"They were stinking worse than Usopp's farts... you didn't want to wear them again, did you?"

Zoro scowled as he let the bags drop on Sanji's bed. "Why the hell are you messing with my clothes, love cook?" he asked, his eyes darting to the corner. "You weren't... at my bag, were you?"

"What would I want with your bag, marimo? I just threw the dirty things away that were messing up my room."

"Che... those were still good. I only wore them for three days."

Sanji gritted his teeth. "You've _trained_ in them for three days. They were drenched in sweat!"

Smirking, Zoro said, "Not my fault that you can't recognise a real man's odour, princess."

"I real bull's odour, you mean..." Sanji replied with flashing eyes.

"You little-..."

They glared at each other and crossed their arms, stubbornly looking into different directions as they remembered that they didn't want to fight in their room.

"Which phone did you get?" Sanji asked sharply after a few seconds.

"One from Snail... the Den Den Edition," Zoro replied stubbornly and reluctantly he added, "And... with GPS."

Sanji laughed. "Good for you! Maybe then you won't end up missing half a year of school when you're going out alone again."

Zoro shrugged. "That thing doesn't work probably, though."

"Huh? How come?"

"Well, it gives me wrong directions and... it's a bit annoying..."

"Annoying?"

"Well, you see..."

_Zoro grinned as he held his new phone inside his hand. Just like the shop owner had told him to, he entered the school's address into the small device and waited until it had calculated the best route._

"_Walk down Golden Road until the next intersection, then turn left," a mechanic voice said and Zoro began to walk, seemingly following the instructions._

"_You've turned the wrong way," the mechanic voice said and Zoro frowned. "Go back and turn right."_

_Zoro went back and turned... left. _

"_I said to turn RIGHT," his phone said, now a lot less friendly than before._

_Scratching his head, Zoro went back and, once again, passed by the street he was supposed to go down._

"_RIGHT! YOU HAVE TO GO TO THE FRICKIN RIGHT, DAMMIT! YOUR RIGHT, IDIOT!"_

_Zoro went left._

"_ARGH! Don't you have any sense of direction at all?" the phone yelled, its display glowing in an angry red light._

_Now, Zoro began to get angry as well. "That's what I've got YOU for, isn't it?" he yelled back, shaking the phone in his hands. "If your direction weren't that crappy, I could follow them well enough."_

"_My directions are CRAPPY?" _

"And then the phone refused to talk to me..." Zoro ended his tale. "Luckily, I ran into Ace and we went back together."

Sanji stared at him. "You... had an argument with your _phone_?"

Crossing his arms once again, Zoro scowled. "It started it!"

"That you've even reached the school at all is a small wonder..." Sanji said and shook his head.

Determined to change the topic, Zoro pointed at the papers on Sanji's desk. "What are you doing?"

"Homework... I didn't finish my maths assignments yet."

"Really? I did them yesterday."

Sanji frowned. Zoro had been surprisingly good at all of their 'normal' subjects so far (well, not Art... he really sucked at drawing) and considering the time he had lost... "How are you that good at this stuff, anyway?" Sanji voiced his thoughts. "You've missed three months of school!"

Zoro shrugged. "My old school was really strict and we were a bit ahead in our studies..."

"Uh huh... but if it was a good school, then why did you come here? If you don't want to become a pirate, I mean..."

"It's the only school that teaches fighting to this scale. And _he_ is-... it's an important step to fulfil my dream," Zoro explained.

"Zoro, I meant to ask... what exacly _is_ your dream?"

Zoro grinned at Sanji's question. "To become the best."

* * *

They talked a bit longer and Sanji told him everything about the crew's dreams.

"I want to find that ocean... All Blue," he said when it was time to talk about his own.

"And you really think it exists?" Zoro asked him.

"I'm sure of it!" Sanji said decidedly. "Many people have laughed at me, but... I'm sure that it's out there somewhere."

"And Nami wants to make a map of the world... Usopp wants to become a great warrior and Chopper wants to find a medicament that cures any illness?" Zoro asked and smiled. "Those are nice dreams."

"I know, right?" Sanji said rather giddily. "And Luffy's dream is probably the most difficult to achieve... but I'm sure he'll make it."

"You've got a lot of faith in him..."

"You haven't seen him fighting Arlong or Krieg, marimo. I know he can do it... I wouldn't be serving a lesser man."

"Big words for a shitcook," Zoro said, smirking and Sanji growled.

"Shut up, moss-head, and better help me with this stuff," the cook replied, motioning to his undone homework. "At this rate, I'll never get it done and it's your fault for distracting me!"

Zoro raised an eyebrow. "Ah? Am I really responsible for you finding me more interesting than math now?"

"I didn't say that, asshole!" Sanji spit out, his temper rising. "You made me talk about our dreams and now you can help me with this..."

"And what do I get in return?"

"Who says I'm going to give you anything?"

"Well, since you're asking for a favour... Ah, you could let me sleep with you!"

Sanji's face flushed as he glared at Zoro. "You damn pervert! How dare you-"

"Oi! I didn't mean it like _that_, shitcook. Che... don't flatter yourself," Zoro said as Sanji gritted his teeth. "Just let me sleep beside you..."

"No way!"

"Then you can do your homework on your own," Zoro said, grinning and Sanji glared at the unfinished pile on his desk. He would never manage to do all that in one night...

"Fine... _Fine!_ You can have the bed tonight and I'll sleep on the futon. But only today!" he finally said.

"You're such a wimp," Zoro replied. "Alright, but I'm only helping you... I won't let you copy my answers."

"Bastard."

* * *

Somewhere in the depths of All Blue Central's slums, a big, imposing figure stood in front of a window, his arms behind his back as he stared outside.

Two men were in the middle of the room, watching the bulky figure with fear as they waited for him to speak.

"You better have good news for me..." the man said, his voice cold enough that the two men shuddered.

"C-Captain Krieg, sir... o-one of our gangs has been beaten again," one of the two said nervously.

Without warning, Krieg turned around and shot the stuttering man with the gun on his arm. The other man watched in horror as his friend dropped dead to the ground.

"You, who was it this time?" Krieg bellowed to his shocked follower.

The man trembled as he spoke. "It- It was a man with three swords... I- I think it's the same as a few days ago a-and Fire Fist joined him later. T-They looked like friends."

"Fire Fist?" Krieg's eyes darkened. "Does that swordsman have connections with _'that boy'_?"

"I-... I don't know. They didn't say anything about Fire Fist's brother."

Krieg clenched his fists. "First that blond cook beating up our men and then that swordsman... That school is becoming beyond bothersome," Krieg said and with a fearsome look, he turned to his follower. "Go."

"Wha-?"

"I SAID GO!" Krieg yelled and the man hurried out of the room before he was made into another target by his captain.

Once he was gone, a voice giggled in the back, its owner hidden in the shadows. "My, my... you're rough as always, Krieg-san."

"Shut up! Do you think I care about your opinion?" Krieg hissed back and the voice laughed again.

"Oh, come on... I just think it's stupid to kill your followers. I wouldn't mind giving them a nice beating every once in a while, but killing is so... unpleasant."

"You should be more careful or you'll be the next one I shoot, Alvida."

Alvida stepped out of the shadows, the moon light from the window reflected by her smooth skin. "Oh, but you wouldn't, would you?" she asked, touching her beautiful cheek and batting her eyelashes at him. "We're allies, after all."

Unmoved by her flirtations, Krieg gritted his teeth. "That Monkey boy... you owe him as much as I do. You should understand how I'm feeling."

"Oh, I do! No man has ever touched me like he did..." she said and sighed deeply. "It was the fist of love."

"You really are one sick woman..." Krieg remarked. "What about the meeting? Will they come?"

"Did you think my persuasive skills would fail you? They're on their way."

"Good... then everything goes according to plan," Krieg said before smirking evilly. "We'll burn that school to ashes!"

* * *

The next morning, Ace raised his eyebrows as he saw Sanji strolling down the hallway, looking as pale as one of Perona's zombies. Swaying a little on his feet, the cook yawned loudly at every second step and Ace walked quickly to catch up with him.

"Sanji, you look worse than Marco after a drinking game..." he said, slinging his arm around the blond's shoulders, more to steady him than to offer affection this time.

Sanji yawned in return and rubbed his eyes. "Zoro didn't let me sleep last night," he said and seconds later a look of horror appeared on his face. "W-Wait, I-"

"Oh-ho!" Ace cried out, poking Sanji's cheek with his finger. "You're moving fast, honey."

Sanji slapped the hand away, his face beet red as he gritted his teeth. "Shut up, Ace! You know I didn't mean it like that!"

"Oh, and how did you mean it then?"

"Well, Zoro was... sometimes when he is sleeping, he is pretty restless," Sanji explained. "He keeps rolling around and mumbles things. He hasn't done it a lot so far but it was a bit worse than usual last night..."

"Oh, and you couldn't sleep because of that?"

Sanji shrugged. "Not very well... I let him sleep on the bed yesterday and have spent the night on the futon instead."

Ace frowned. "That's weird... Did you ask him about it?"

"No..." Sanji replied, shaking his head. "I've got my own nightmares, Ace. I don't want to pry."

"You're still dreaming about that rock?" Ace asked. Seeing as he was one of the few people who knew about Sanji's traumatic experience, Ace was the person he always went to when his memories became a bit too much and he had to talk to someone about them.

"Sometimes..." Sanji answered quietly. "Not as much as before, but I have my moments. Ah, did you speak to Whitebeard?"

Ace frowned but didn't comment on the sudden change of topic. "Yeah, he already knew about CP9's actions, though. I think Shanks must have told him..." he said.

"I see... is he planning anything?"

"Not that I know... he told me to stand back, though. Seems like you guys are on your own for this."

Sanji shrugged. "Luffy, that idiot, prefers it that way, anyway," he said and looked at his watch. "I have to prepare breakfast before the other bastards wake up... are you coming to the canteen with me?" Sanji asked, before he raised his curled eyebrow. "Wait... you're never up that early. What's the occasion?"

"Marco wants to see me," Ace replied, grinning ear to ear.

"What's up with you two?" Sanji asked curiously. "You're spending a lot of time together..."

"Jealous?"

"In your dreams!" the cook replied and Ace grinned.

"Every night, babe! Every night..." he said, holding up his hand as he went off.

Sanji stared after him for a bit longer until he had to stifle yet another yawn.

It was time to feed the hungry students...

* * *

Even days later, Zoro was still thinking about what Sanji had told him about their dreams.

Luffy and his crew seemed to be quite ambitious and Zoro valued that trait in a person a lot. Ambition came with an urge to push forward, no matter the obstacles, and ultimately, it strengthened a person's will.

Luffy, Sanji, Usopp, Nami and Chopper... all of them had dreams that were difficult, if not near impossible to reach and yet, they looked into the future with confidence.

It was difficult for him to admit, but Zoro was glad to have met them. Apart from the great training he was receiving at EBU, those people had unknowingly helped him a lot to become a better swordsman, a better person.

Their will and ambition was pushing him along and while Zoro's own determination was no less great, their company made his training a whole lot easier.

And apart from all that, he seemed to have become a much nosier person...

"Nico-sensei," Zoro said as he approached the English classroom where Robin was waiting for the teacher.

"I'm a student right now, swordsman-san," she said. "No need to be so polite."

Zoro opened his mouth to reply something but then his sharpened senses registered a movement behind Robin. He frowned as a figure vanished in the shadows, invisible to anyone with lesser fighting skills.

"You're aware that you're being followed, aren't you?" he asked and Robin smiled.

"I've been followed for twenty years... I would find it odd _not_ to have someone tailing me."

Zoro gave her a hard look. "I know it's not my place to say this, but... why don't you join Luffy? I think he could help you."

Robin gave him another indulging smile. "Swordsman-san... how much do you know about history?"

"The most important things, I guess... about the alliance, wars and all," Zoro said, shrugging.

"Well, have you ever heard about the Void Century?"

"Void Century?"

"Yes. One hundred years wiped out with no record left... nothing but inscriptions on indestructible stones written in a forgotten language," she explained and then looked at him. "And I'm the only person who can read them."

"You mean... that's the reason why they're threatening you?"

Robin nodded. "In those hundred years... something happened. Something that the World Government strives to keep secret. And they're ready to kill anyone who could disclose their secrets to the world."

Zoro stared at her. He had thought that it was something like that... that Robin had dangerous knowledge was easily deduced from what Nami had told them. But this now sounded a lot more serious than he had expected. "If you're the only one who can discover the truth about that..." Zoro said slowly, the cogs in his head wheeling. "Then... why are you still alive?"

"Because they need me for something," Robin answered. "Do you understand now? I'm relatively safe right now, because they need my abilities, but if I join a crew..."

"Then they would automatically consider your crewmates a threat," Zoro concluded.

"Exactly. Not only would that mean they have less power over me but I could also disclose information to my friends. That's why I have to stay alone, swordsman-san. As long as I stay unapproachable, they won't think that I trust anyone with what I know about the true history."

Zoro looked at her for a while. She needed help... that much was certain. Her eyes had become tired and it was only a matter of time until everything became too much to endure and she gave up on herself and her life.

Taking a chance, Zoro asked, "Robin... do you have a dream?"

"Dream?"

"Yeah... is there something you would like to achieve? A goal or wish?" he explained.

"I... I do have something like that," she said slowly as if it was painful to remember the existence of such a thing.

"Then maybe you should think about joining Luffy again. I think... it would be your best option," Zoro said.

Just being at the Strawhats' side had eased his near painful ambition greatly and for someone like Robin who needed reliable friends more than anyone else, it might just be the last chance to live on.

"Didn't you listen to what I've told you?" Robin said angrily, raising her voice a little. "It's too dangerous!"

"It's a risk," Zoro said, nodding. "But we both know that Luffy won't sit still no matter if you join his crew or not. Joining the Strawhats, however, might just give you a bit more protection."

Robin sighed. "I hadn't pictured you to be that noisy of a person, swordsman-san. Didn't you want to stay away from all of this?"

Zoro shrugged. "I'm being dragged along... just like you are," he said and went past her, leaving the woman alone with her thoughts.

* * *

Later that evening, Zoro went out into town. He had been doing that a lot lately, waiting to be attacked every time and defeating the mostly weak rogue pirates with only a few of his moves.

It wasn't much of a challenge but still made for a nicer training than using those robot figures, they had to practice attacks in Combat Class.

While the pirates' skills weren't any better, they at least weren't as predictable as the robots and thus more fun to beat.

Zoro hadn't told Sanji about his nightly excursions but was pretty sure the cook knew about them, anyway. At least, he never said anything other than 'have a nice trip' or 'don't get lost, marimo' when Zoro grabbed his swords and went out at ungodly hours.

His GPS thing still wasn't working properly (in his opinion, anyway) but after Zoro had shouted at the mobile phone in front of the gates, Usopp sympathised with him and set the phone's attitude from 'feisty' to 'carefree'. Now, it didn't mind Zoro trying out different directions and told him very politely that he was going the wrong way ("_Oh, you want to go that way? Well, I don't really mind, but it's wrong, you know?"_).

With this trial and error method, Zoro still needed three times as long as other people to find his way but at least he reached his goal in the end.

Zoro dodged as another swordsman slashed at him, diving to the side and disarming the man with two quick moves. He just wanted to knock the guy out as he heard "Gomu Gomu noooo... PISTOL!" behind him and reflexively ducked. A fist flew over his head, hitting the hostile swordsman right in the jar and sending him flying.

"What the hell are you doing here, Luffy?" Zoro yelled as he turned around to face the grinning captain.

"Helping you out, of course," Luffy replied and Zoro's eyebrow twitched.

"Helping out? You nearly hit me back there!"

"Ah, sorry!" Luffy said, curtly, sounding not sorry at all as he held up his hand. "You were in the way."

"You little-..."

"Calm down, marimo," another voice said and Zoro's eyes darted over to the beginning of the alley where the cook was leaning with his back against the wall, only the fire of his lighter illuminating his face as he lit up a cigarette. "We were just bored and thought we could need a little training as well..."

"Shishishishishi!"

A smile tugged at Zoro's lips. "Fine, just don't get in my way," he said and together, the three men took a fighting stance as the hostile pirates rushed at them.

And that was the night, the name 'Monster Trio' was born.

* * *

Several days later, Robin walked slowly through the alleys, her body tense as her eyes darted from one dark corner to the other. To get a few things, she needed for her next lessons (an old map as well as some books), she was out later than usual and knew all too well how dangerous it was to wander around at night.

She was usually more careful but the whole thing with CP9 seemed to have awakened the daredevil in her... either that or she became simply too tired to care.

Most of her life, she had been running away, seeking protection from other people in return for her services as a top-notch assassin.

Crocodile had been the last person who protected her until he had realised that she had no intention of sharing her knowledge with him and handed her over to the government.

It had been a dreadful miscalculation of hers... if the government hadn't had plans of using her, then she would've been executed long ago.

Only that and Shanks demands for her freedom had made it possible for her to go to EBU.

"Nico Robin."

Robin froze at the cold voice. She knew it well... far too well by now. Slowly, she turned around to stare into the hard eyes of Rob Lucci. She hadn't heard him... hadn't noticed him at all.

"I think you know why I'm here..."

Robin's hold on the bag in her hand tightened and Lucci smirked.

"Exactly. Those books are forbidden, Nico Robin."

"They aren't telling anything about the lost history. You know that nothing written on paper had survived that time!"

"But they are representing an opinion the government doesn't approve of."

"They are only telling the truth!"

"Give them to me, Nico Robin, or face the consequences... I'm entitled to use force if needed."

When Robin neither moved nor said a word, Lucci suddenly vanished in front of her eyes and reappeared right behind her.

"I warned you..." the cold voice breathed against her neck and Robin just wanted to run as she heard another voice.

"Stay away from her, pigeon guy!"

Robin's eyes darted to the beginning of the alley and she recognised Luffy standing there, his eyes furious as they looked at Lucci.

Lucci had laid a finger on her back by now but stopped right before penetrating Robin's skin. "Strawhat..." he whispered without backing away.

Then he registered other movements and the cool steel of a sword was pressed against his neck. Staying unimpressed, Lucci looked to his right to see the school's new swordsman, Roronoa Zoro, standing there, glaring at him.

"Didn't you hear what he said?" Zoro asked.

"You better do what you're told..." yet another voice said from behind him. "I would never forgive you for hurting such a beautiful lady."

Cigarette smoke hit Lucci's nostrils, leaving no questions on the last voice's owner.

Oh, how he would love to kill them! It wouldn't be hard... at their current level they were no match at all for him, but... he had his orders and those said neither to touch Monkey D. Luffy nor his crewmates.

Reluctantly, Lucci withdrew his hand. "This isn't over yet, Nico Robin. You're being watched... and the government won't be tolerating any and all mistakes of yours," he said and then used 'Soru' to move away from Zoro's sword.

Hands in his pockets, Lucci slowly walked away, a pigeon landing on his shoulder as he reached the end of the alley and vanished around the corner.

Once he was gone, Robin sank to the ground, her legs giving way as the tension all of a sudden left her body.

"Robin-chan, are you-" Sanji began but was interrupted by her.

"Why...?" she asked them quietly, eyes fixed on the ground. "Why are you doing this? Why are you meddling in things that doesn't even concern you?"

"Because we're friends," Luffy replied and Robin looked up at him.

"You don't even know me! What makes you think that we are friends?"

Luffy cocked his head. "Because I want us to be..."

"You-"

"Give it up," Zoro said next to her. "You might think it's too dangerous to let anyone get close to you, but isn't what happened today proof that you can't go on alone?"

"That guy just now..." Sanji said. "You could feel that he was strong, but Luffy has something that means much more against these people than strength... do you know what that is, Robin-chan?"

When Robin stayed silent, the cook went on, "Influence. Luffy is Dragon's son and Garp's grandson as well as a prodigy declared by Shanks and the brother of Whitebeard's second division commander."

"Oi, Sanji! Quit saying that stuff! I would never-"

"I know you wouldn't use your connections, you idiot!" Sanji barked at Luffy, interrupting his outburst. "But _they_ don't know that! Or rather yet: they are too afraid to count on an assumption."

Sanji walked over to Robin and held out a hand to help her up. "What I'm trying to say, Robin-chan, is that you don't have to be afraid of anything happening to us. The alliance had been threatened for a while now... all sides are tense and the government wouldn't do anything at this moment to cause a war. Joining us would be the best option for you..."

Robin stared at Sanji's outstretched hand. "Am I... really allowed to join you? Do I deserve to have friends like you?" she whispered, her voice barely audible.

"Of course!" Luffy replied, grinning widely and Robin smiled.

Slowly, she took the hand offered to her.

* * *

Zoro quietly asked himself why the hell he was with the Strawhats, celebrating the joining of a new crewmate when he wasn't even _part_ of said crew but then shrugged. Ace was there as well and the sake was free, so... whatever!

"Luffy sure knows how to bite off more than he can chew..." Ace said next to him and Zoro grabbed the fingers that were creeping up his thigh with a painfully strong grip.

"That's not cool, mate," the older man said, grimacing as he pulled back his abused digits and blew at them.

"Neither is you molesting me, _mate_," Zoro replied, saying the last word through gritted teeth. "What did you mean with the chewing? Literally or...?"

Ace grinned as Luffy chose that very moment to laugh with a full mouth, spitting food at everyone at the table. Sanji kicked him for wasting food and dirtying the ladies.

"That too but I meant mostly her," Ace answered, pointing at Nico Robin with his thumb. She was laughing at Luffy's antics and Sanji's ranting. It seemed strange how happy she looked, how free she suddenly seemed... like a completely different person.

"Is CP9 that much of a threat?" Zoro asked.

"If what Pops told me is true, then we should all watch our steps... even you," Ace said, bumping Zoro's shoulder with his fist. "Even in the unrealistic event that you _won't_ give in and join my brother's crew, you're still associating with them and anyone like that will be under supervision by the government. Kidd and Law probably too..." Ace shrugged. "They are fighting with Luffy most of the time but the government will still think, they could have come by some information that could end up threatening them."

Zoro nodded and took another swig of his sake. He had the feeling that he was stumbling into something that could very well end up interfering with his dream but for some strange reason, he still couldn't bring himself to push these people away... from the very first day, it was like they were pulling him in and he couldn't escape, didn't _want_ to escape.

Something about this strange crew felt like home.

"Yo, marimo-head!" Sanji slurred as he came stumbling over to Zoro and Ace.

"Not much of a drinker, is he?" Zoro asked Ace as Sanji sat down next to the swordsman and lay an arm around his shoulder, sighing happily as his head rested against him.

Ace grinned. "Nah, and you can do practically all you want when he is in this state... watch this!" he said and stood up to go over to Sanji. Ace leaned his back against the table and slightly bowed down to use two fingers to tilt Sanji's chin up to him.

Zoro frowned at the gesture and then stared, his eyes widening as Ace closed the gap between them and pressed his lips to the blond's. Sanji hummed happily as he was kissed, oblivious of how close he was to Zoro's face and the swordsman found himself swallowing, his heart quickening as the kiss deepened.

Ace pulled back and grinned at Sanji who lazily smiled back until his eyes drooped down and his head fell down on Zoro's shoulder, a quiet snore escaping his mouth.

"Amazing, isn't he?" Ace asked Zoro as he smiled down at the cook and played with the golden hair that was cascading Zoro's back.

Zoro frowned at him. "Are you two...?"

"Nah, we aren't together. Blondie thinks he is one-hundred percent straight... you can do anything you want to him when he is like this, though."

"Aren't you taking advantage of him then?" Zoro asked, scowling and Ace shrugged in return.

"Sanji knows that this happens when he drinks too much... and he does it, anyway," Ace said. "If you ask me, our blondie secretly has a thing for men and is just afraid to admit it."

"And you don't have feelings for him?"

Ace shook his head. "Not those kind of feelings at least... makes me a bit of a slut, doesn't it?"

Zoro shrugged. "I won't answer that. Something tells me you would consider it a compliment."

Ace grinned. "Only a few days and you already know me _so_ well..."

* * *

Zoro sighed as he was tumbling down the hallway, trying to ignore the warm weight pressing against his back. Damn cook for getting drunk that easily... damn Ace for _guilt-tripping_ him into carrying the blond back to their room!

"_I'll definitely take advantage of blondie if I'm the one to bring him back, you know..." _

Zoro growled. He could have ignored Ace's babbling but there was something about the thought of Sanji doing that sort of thing with Ace that really irked him... Zoro was by no means prejudiced or anything. He just... didn't like to think about them having sex.

Well, and the blond would most likely kill him if he hadn't done anything to protect his skinny ass.

"You're such a damn bastard," Zoro said to the cook as he tried to get his keys out without dropping the blond.

The cook mumbled something incoherent and Zoro frowned. When he listened intently for a few seconds and no more mumbling was heard, Zoro shrugged it off as incoherent sleep-talking and tried to get his key into the lock of their room.

Then he froze.

His heart skipped a beat as he felt something wet and warm against the back of his neck. Zoro's eyes widened and he dropped the keys with a rather unmanly shriek as he suddenly felt something even wetter on his neck.

The damn cook was _licking_ him!

"W-Will you cut it out?" Zoro yelled as the tongue was followed with teeth. "I'm not a woman!"

The cook chuckled, the light laughter vibrating through Zoro's back and the swordsman felt himself shudder. "Know you aren't... but you look tasty, greeny. I'm a cook... I'm tasting."

Zoro shrieked again when he was bitten for a second time and prayed to whatever there was that no one had heard him... he would never live that down!

"I'm not a damn vegetable either!" Zoro said and Sanji chuckled again.

"No, you're a maaa-riiii-mooo!" Sanji said slowly, then laughed and rubbed his cheek against Zoro's back. "Warm marimo..."

Cursing himself for getting caught off guard like that, Zoro stuttered, "S-Shut up now, curly brow. I'm trying to get into our room..."

"Room?" the blond asked and then looked up to see over Zoro's shoulder. "That's 109... we're 108, marimo."

Zoro's face flushed as he looked at the shining sign at the door and realised that the cook was right. Damn it... even drunk he had a better sense of direction than him!

He bent down to pick up the keys he had dropped before (Sanji squealed in delight for whatever reason) and solemnly went one door further down the hallway.

"'Tis right, marimo," Sanji said.

Why the hell was Zoro still carrying him when he was so obviously awake, anyway?

"Shut up or I'm gonna drop you," he said to the blond who pouted in return and then opened up the door.

When they were inside, he dropped Sanji on his bed and turned around to close the door.

Just as he wanted to get his futon out, he was stopped by a hand on his arm. "Don't go, Zoro."

Zoro frowned and opened his mouth to tell him he was just going to make his futon ready, when he was pulled down on Sanji's bed.

Zoro froze as the cook curled up to his side, one arm and leg draped other his body and his crotch pressing dangerously against his hip.

"C-Cook? What are you doing?"

"Sleepin'... you're fluffy warm."

Zoro's eyebrow twitched. 'Fluffy warm'? Seriously? "Cut the crap and let me go. You said, you don't want us to sleep together, didn't you?"

"Don't care... warm..." Sanji whispered. He was already drifting off again as he snuggled closer to Zoro, his nose nuzzling the swordsman's neck.

Zoro sighed. He couldn't push him away... why the _hell_ couldn't he push him away?

Before he knew what he was doing, Zoro touched a strand of the cook's hair and let it slide through his fingers. He sort of knew what Ace meant... in a way, that guy really was amazing.

Amazingly ambiguous, but still amazing.

Throwing the blanket over them, Zoro hoped he wouldn't be kicked all too hard the next day as he too snuggled closer to the blond. Something told him Sanji wouldn't quite remember that he had invited Zoro to sleep with him that night...

_TBC_

* * *

_I love making Sanji a cute drunk... sorry! XD _

_Fun fact: I'm having a pretty bad sense of direction as well... not as bad as Zoro's but bad enough that I keep getting lost at my university (honestly, that place is a maze and the maps are... wrong, okay? XD) and I always wanted a GPS thingy that drops the polite act and tells me to go the right way already..._

_Really, those things that just calculate a new route and ignore you not following their directions are so boring, aren't they?_

_No character at all... no, I want one that goes all Terminator at me! That had be fun! :D_

_Ehm, yeah... review please? :3_


	4. Chapter 4

_Well, the two week update time sure had worked this time... I won't bore you with my nonsense this time.  
_

_Enjoy! :)_**  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece.  
**

* * *

**Chapter 4: A New Path**

Sanji hummed happily as he awakened out of his deep slumber. A warm weight was pressed against his back, strong arms wrapped around his torso and hot, even breathing tickled the back of his neck.

In his sleepy haze, Sanji felt awareness scratching at the surface of his consciousness. It... shouldn't be like that, right? He didn't have a hot girlfriend to wake up to and... those arms... weren't they a bit too bulky? The body against his back... too firm?

Sanji frowned.

Slowly, he touched the arm that was wrapped around him, caressing the skin with careful fingers. It was smooth alright... nearly hairless, even.

Did he get lucky the night before? Sanji remembered drinking with his crew after dinner, but he surely hadn't drunk enough to hit on one of those bulky girls from the Amazon crew, had he?

Swallowing, Sanji took heart and decided to take responsibility. No matter if his type or not, a lady was a lady and he was too much of a gentleman to make any woman cry!

No matter how... manly she seemed to be.

Eyes still closed, Sanji slowly turned around. "Wakey, wakey, my beautiful rose... Rise and shine, milady!" he chanted and slowly opened his eyes.

A deep groan answered him at first and Sanji's eyes widened in shock as a deep voice replied, "Who the hell are you calling 'milady', shitcook?"

Crash!

"What the hell?" Zoro yelled at him from the floor, holding his stomach where he had been kicked.

"What the _hell_? What the fuck are you doing in my bed, asshole?" Sanji returned, his face red with anger and embarrassment.

Zoro glared at him. "What do you think I did? I was sleeping a minute ago!"

"I don't recall inviting you!"

"Not my fault that you can't hold your liquor, idiot cook! Geez... it's not like you complained, either! You even _cuddled_ with me!"

"I... I obviously thought you were a woman!"

"Yeah, 'cause I'm easily mistaken with one," Zoro said, rolling his eyes and standing up. "Whatever, it's nearly time to get up, anyway. You have to cook again, don't you?"

Sanji turned his head away when Zoro took off his shirt as he was on his way to the bathroom.

Cursing, he kicked his bed and glared at it when a small crack appeared in the wood. Then he went over to the cupboard to select his clothes for the day.

Fifteen minutes later, Zoro came back out of the bathroom and Sanji, who was just busy packing his bag, dropped the books he had been holding as he saw him. Eyes wide, he looked Zoro up and down, swallowing when he came back to his face.

The swordsman was completely and utterly naked.

Using a towel to dry his hair, Zoro smirked as he looked at Sanji. "Finished checking me out, cook?" he asked as he walked to his bag to get some new clothes.

Sanji quickly turned around to hide his blush. "W-Who is checking you out, idiot? I was just shocked at your shameless behaviour."

"Did you spend too much time with Paulie?" Zoro asked, snorting. "We are both men, aren't we? Unless it's true what Ace said yesterday, it shouldn't be a problem, or... are you really gay, cook?"

* * *

"That's a lovely imprint Zoro has on his face there... Did something good happen last night?"

Sanji growled as he cut the rest of the carrots and threw them into the boiling water, completely ignoring the grinning Ace at his side.

After Zoro's comments that morning... well, Sanji's foot had accidentally 'slipped'.

"Shut up, Ace! I'm trying to cook a meal here..." Sanji said irritatedly when Ace just continued to grin at him.

"Yeah... the oven is smoking, though."

Sanji's eyes widened. "Shit! The roast beef!" He ran to the oven where thick smoke came out of, turned it off and cursing, he opened the stove to take the now nearly black meat out.

"More roast than beef, huh? Wow, Zoro is really effecting you, isn't he?"

"Ace... please, shut up..."

"No worries, babe! Luffy eats anything that's meat, no matter how burned."

"That's not the point!" Sanji cried out, running a hand through his blond hair. "Dammit, I haven't messed up that much in years..."

Seeing Sanji's distraught expression, Ace lay an arm around his shoulders. "What happened, blondie? Did Zoro grab a feel? Want me to burn his sexy ass for you, hm?"

"No, he didn't really..." Sanji began and then looked at him. "Ace, was I... like _that_ again, yesterday?"

When Ace just shot him a perverted grin, Sanji groaned.

"No worries, honey. We only made out a little, nothing major."

"Y-You-..."

"Zoro protected you, though," Ace said, removing his arm from Sanji's tense shoulders and scratching his chin. "I wanted to bring you back to your room and he said he would do it instead. I only insinuated a _little_ that I could do something to you..."

"Ace, I'm so gonna kick your sorry-"

"So, you slept together, huh?"

The pot with the roast beef Sanji had been holding fell onto the ground, making several heads turn as the ear-splitting sound carried all the way into the canteen. Cursing, Sanji bent to pick it up.

"We didn't sleep together, Ace... w-we slept _beside_ each other! That's different..."

"Was Zoro restless again?"

Surprised at the lack of innuendo, Sanji turned his head quickly to look up at Ace. "What?"

"Well, out of experience, I know that you're a light sleeper... if he had tossed and turned again, then you wouldn't have gotten a wink of sleep, no matter how drunk. Did he do anything?"

Sanji frowned as he placed the pot on the counter. "No..." he said slowly. "Now that I think about it... he was fast asleep the whole time. But, wait a minute... how the hell do you know that I'm a light sleeper? We've never-... Oi, Ace! Get back here, you damn bastard!"

But Ace was already walking out of the canteen, laughing loud enough that people looked after him.

Sanji glowered when he was gone, a vein popping angrily on his forehead.

That shitty bastard... Sanji should bribe Luffy with food one day, so he put a leash on his brother.

Well, at least Ace had given him something to think about.

Zoro seemed to have slept like a baby that night... was it because of Sanji's body heat? Was that the reason, Zoro always wanted to sleep with him?

Working quickly to save his failed roast beef, Sanji decided to ask the marimo later about it.

* * *

A few minutes later, everyone sat at the dining table and appreciated the meal Sanji had nearly cooked from scratch.

"So, you, Sanji and Zoro are going to patrol from now on?" Nami asked, watching her captain eat.

Luffy, mouth full of burned meat (which hadn't dampened his enthusiasm about it in the slightest), swallowed and nodded quickly. "Yeah, it was Sanji's idea!"

Nami hmm-ed and rested her chin on her hand. "Might be a good idea, too... Coby nearly got himself killed, yesterday. Good thing he is such a quick runner."

"Coby did?" Luffy asked and frowned. Things like this had happened a lot of times but Coby usually was smart enough not to go out alone at night.

"Yeah. It was Buggy's gang this time... Well, at least, it wasn't Alvida! He might've never come back then..."

Luffy crossed his arms and looked over at Coby who was talking to Vivi about something. Not being able to protect his friends at all times... it had bugged him for a while now. There were so many people who had gotten hurt lately and the thought that he hadn't been able to help was unbearable.

Putting on the hat that had been dangling from his neck, Luffy's gaze darkened as he saw the bandages on Coby's arms and forehead.

"You can't be everywhere at once, Luffy," Nami said urgently as she followed his eyes. "It's not your fault when-"

All of a sudden, Luffy stood up and Nami nearly fell off her chair.

"Luffy! Wha-"

"I can't be everywhere but... in this school, we're all allies. Together we can-... I'm gonna go talk to Traffy and Kidd. See you later, Nami!" he said and then left the canteen.

Frowning, Nami looked after him for a while before she shrugged and went off to get another glass of orange juice.

Not to worry about anything their captain was planning, had long since become the number one Strawhat rule.

* * *

As expected, Luffy found Kidd and Law in the Common Room, where Kidd tried to watch one of his favourite action shows and Law did everything to annoy the hell out of Kidd.

"That guy could never have survived an explosion like that with only a few scratches!" Law just said as Luffy came in. "Do you know how people normally look after something like that, Eustass? Missing body parts, intestines hanging out of their stomachs, burned skin... And, I can tell you, the cuts aren't nearly as nice as seen on TV. Pieces of flesh lying around everywhere can make your stomach curl... if you aren't into that, I mean."

While Law was grinning broadly, Kidd's mood became darker and darker. "Will you shut the hell up? I'm trying to watch this..." he said through gritted teeth.

"I'm just informing you about the obvious mistakes of this dreadful series..." Law explained and then groaned. "That guy is supposed to have shot himself in the head and only has that small hole? Where are the pieces of scull and-"

"_Shut the fuck up already, Trafalgar!_" Kidd suddenly cried out, jumping up from the couch and glaring at Law with malicious contempt.

The other students in the Common Room seemed to have seen that outburst as their cue to leave and only Law, Kidd and Luffy remained inside the room.

Curious to know what was going to happen next, Luffy leaned his back against the wall, crossed his arms and decided to watch them for a while.

Not bothered at all by Kidd's reaction to his comments, Law leaned back in the couch and smirked up at him. "Sure you wanna talk to me like that, Eustass?"

"I'm fed up with your damn threats! Do you think I'll listen to your crap forever?"

"Ah, then you don't fear my powers any more?" Law asked and raised his hands.

Kidd didn't reply but his wide eyes and clenched fists spoke volumes.

Chuckling, Law stood up. "Fine, I'll leave you alone for now. I think Strawhat has business with us, anyway," he said and Kidd followed his eyes to Luffy who grinned back at them.

"What do you want, Strawhat?" Kidd asked, his jaw clenched as he looked at Luffy. Normally, everyone knew when it was time to leave the room but that guy, just like Law, didn't seem to have any sense of danger at all.

And Kidd didn't like that lack of control one bit.

"I wanna talk about those attacks at our students," Luffy said, pushing his body away from the wall. "Did you hear about Coby?"

Law and Kidd looked at each other and Law asked, "That marine boy?"

Luffy nodded. "Yeah... he is my friend. Everyone here is my friend and... they keep getting attacked. I don't like it."

"Hm, truth be told, I don't give a damn about other students, but... Shachi had been attacked last week as well," Law said.

Kidd laughed. "It's his own fault if he is too weak!"

"Didn't Heat have trouble before, too?" Law asked him. "Those pirates in the alleys might not be all too strong, but they outnumber us one to thousand. Anyone can be in danger that way..."

Luffy nodded. "I want to protect them."

"And how do you want to do that?" Kidd said, looking at the two other captains. "Wait... you can't mean-"

"I want to work together," Luffy said, grinning. "If our crews were to fight them then they wouldn't stand a chance! We can beat them! All of them!"

"You're suggesting an alliance?" Law asked. "With us?"

Kidd smirked. "You sure have guts, Strawhat."

Luffy just laughed in return.

* * *

"An alliance with the Heart and Kidd pirates?" Nami asked later at dinner. "Is that really a good idea?"

"Don't forget that we're enemies, Luffy! You have the same dreams as them, don't you?" Usopp asked.

Luffy crossed his arms as he looked at his nakama. "It's the only way to protect the school and the students," he said. "They agreed to make patrols with us."

"What about the curfew?" Usopp asked. "I know that barely anyone follows the rules, but... if we go out every night, then-"

"I've already talked to Iceburg-san and got the permission," Ace said, coming up behind them. Then he looked at Luffy. "Marco agreed to help, too."

"Yosh! That settles it," Luffy said, grinning. "You gonna help, too, Zoro?"

Zoro who was seated with them and had stayed quiet until then, shrugged. "Sure... I'm fighting them, anyway."

"Shishishishi... we should have a feast to celebrate! Oi, Sanji! Cook meat! Lots of meat!"

Sanji, already standing at the stove, held up his hand to signal that he understood.

"We only had a feast yesterday, Luffy," Nami remarked but Luffy ignored her as he was too busy drumming with fork and knife on the table, chanting a chorus of 'Meat! Meat! Meat we'll eat! Meat! Meat! Lot's of Meat!'

"Listen when people talk to you, you damn-"

Dodging Nami's fists on his way (she always reminded him of his grandpa for whatever reason), Ace dropped down next to Zoro. "Hey, babe! How is it going?"

"Whatever I'm going to say, you'll reply with some innuendo, won't you?"

"Hm, you're paying quite a lot attention to me, swordsman-kun. Does that mean there is some hope for me?" Ace said, laying an arm around Zoro's shoulders and invading his personal space.

Zoro tensed immediately but didn't push him away. He saw it as some form of endurance training... a way to steel his mind. He could always end up having to fight some pervert in the future, right?

"See? Innuendo, just like I said. For a commander from Whitebeard's crew, you're surprisingly easy to figure out..."

"Oh, only if I want to be..." Ace replied. "There is more to me than meets the eye."

"I'm sure there is..." Zoro said, his eyes turning to slits. "What exactly are you planing, Ace?"

Grinning, Ace played with Zoro's earrings, letting them jingle with his fingers. "That's for me to know and for you to figure out, love," he said quietly.

* * *

From the kitchen, Sanji watched how Ace and Zoro slid closer and closer together, Ace's hand on Zoro's cheek as he whispered something to him.

The cook frowned, his mouth curling around his cigarette in an angry sneer. Was that swordsman gay, after all? He never did answer any questions about his sexuality...

Not that Sanji cared, not really. Although, considering the way he had woken up that night... maybe he _should_ care, after all.

Well, even if Zoro _was_ into men, he sure as hell didn't show any interest in him... and even if he did, he didn't seem the flirtatious type who just went and slapped asses left and right.

Sanji shuddered. That sure wasn't an image he liked inside his head...

No, other than this unhealthy desire to cuddle with Sanji, there didn't seem to be any 'danger' coming from Zoro. Well, if there was, Sanji would kick his ass, obviously... Still good to know that he didn't have to be on his guard all the time and/or had to pay attention not to do anything that could make Zoro uncomfortable, though.

Well, Ace always said that straight men worried too much about gay men liking them and all... Sanji had obviously become used to being around people like him but Ace's continues flirting and the way he always took advantage of Sanji's little weakness of being unable to hold his liquor were-

"Woohoo! Sanji is making that crispy meat again tonight!" Luffy suddenly exclaimed and with a jolt, Sanji turned around to the stove.

_Fucking swordsman! _It was all his fault...

* * *

After lots of name-calling, flying fists and the occasional exchange of cut off body parts, the three captains had decided on a schedule for their patrols.

Still reluctant to be considered part of a crew, Zoro had insisted not to be divided into one of the groups... he would be joining them however he saw fit then.

"You're really stupid, you know?" Sanji remarked a day after the alliance as he prepared his bed. "You're eating, fighting and always talking to us... why don't you join the crew for real?"

"I told you that I don't want to be a pirate, didn't I?" Zoro answered. He sat on his futon with crossed arms and put up bottom lip. He _obviously_ wasn't pouting.

Sanji shrugged. "Joining doesn't mean that you have to stay with us after graduation, you know? You can always leave and do your own thing then."

"I'm not doing such half-assed things, cook," Zoro replied, glaring at him. "And I won't do anything that doesn't help me to become stronger..."

"And you think having someone like Luffy for your captain won't help you with that? God knows what kind of enemies he'll make in the future... I mean, he is already picking a fight with the government, isn't he?"

Zoro frowned as he looked at Sanji. "What's up with you, anyway? I thought you didn't want me to join you guys..."

Looking surprised at the question, Sanji's eyes widened. Letting himself fall onto his bed, he buried his head into his pillow and mumbled a barely audible, "No reason."

Zoro seemed to let it drop because Sanji heard how he lay down as well.

It had been a good question, though.

He didn't really want Zoro with them, or... did he?

"Hey..." Sanji said slowly. "About this sleeping together thing..."

"If you want me to apologise, then-"

"I wouldn't expect that much from you, shithead," Sanji said, rolling his eyes. "No, I just wanted to ask... You're sometimes pretty restless when you're sleeping. Is there... a special reason for that? Because... last night, I didn't notice anything, so you must have slept calmly then."

"I'm just used to having someone next to me," Zoro said, shrugging from his place on his futon. "I've told you about sharing beds in the orphanage, didn't I? It's just... like a habit."

"That's why you always want to sleep with me?"

Zoro grinned. "What? Are you disappointed now?"

"As if, bastard!"

* * *

In the next few weeks, Zoro got used to the way things worked at EBU.

While he had been weirded out by all the strange people, rules and study methods at first (some of the robots in Combat Class had freaking _lasers_), he had soon settled in and got used to life at the unusual school.

A few things still got on his nerves, though...

"Zoro, duck!" Usopp cried out but Zoro had already sensed the fire ammunition flying towards him and evaded the attack with a quick step to the left.

"Ah, sorry about that!" Usopp said, scratching his head as several students calmly grabbed the near-by fire extinguishers to save the burning curtains. Taking care of such things was as normal as toilet breaks at this place. "The ammunition is great and all but I still have to work on the control... it's supposed to fly like a bird, you know?"

"And you think that will work?" Zoro asked.

"Oh, yes! I... might not be the best fighter, but I have great aim!" Usopp replied honestly and without his usual boasting voice. "It's just a matter of finding the right chemical substance, calculating the air pressure right and-"

Zoro held up his hand. "Don't bother explaining. If it works, it works. That's all I have to know."

"You're just like Luffy," Usopp said, grinning. "He called it 'mystery fire' when I tried to tell him about it."

"Your captain is rather carefree, isn't he?"

"Yeah, but his heart is in the right place and that's what counts," Usopp said and took out a few other red bullets from his bag. "Well, I gotta go and asked Chopper if he can help me with the chemicals... Maybe Robin, too. She reads a lot, you know? Well, see ya!"

And with that, Usopp hurried off before Paulie could come and spot the ruined curtains.

Zoro scratched his chin as he looked after him.

What Usopp had said about his aim was true... Zoro had seen him putting on quite a show in Combat Class. Sharpshooters were essential in a pirate crew, so Luffy was lucky to have someone like him in his crew.

And the others had valuable abilities as well.

Nami had proven astonishing talent in Navigation Class (the only subject Zoro would surely fail), Chopper was a great doctor despite his cute look and Robin had this vast knowledge that would be incredible useful in every treasure hunt.

Robin... she seemed to open up more and more lately and little by little, she had told Luffy and the other's about her past. There were still CP9 members following her around, but thanks to the Strawhats accompanying her wherever she went, they hadn't been able to do anything to her.

It had surprised Zoro a lot to get to know about Luffy's influence. With his carefree nature, he had seemed more like a guy who grew up somewhere on the countryside and not like the son and grandson of a revolutionary and a marine vice-admiral.

Not to mention the connection to one of the emperors and even the relationship to Whitebeard's second-in-command... Sanji was right, though. The government will see Luffy's act of making Robin join his crew as a threat and, alliance between pirates and government or not, they will most likely do everything in their power to get the right of arresting the Strawhats after graduation.

Yeah, Zoro could already see that they would be feared by the world in the future.

To find such a team that complemented each other perfectly could only have been fate or incredible luck.

Whatever it was, Luffy becoming the pirate king seemed less and less incredulous the longer Zoro knew him. The boy just had an air around him that made it seem as if he could make anything possible.

While walking down the corridor like that, Zoro thought more and more about the Strawhats and realised for the first time how much the crew had grown on him.

Crewmember or not, they had become great friends in the past few weeks and Zoro had even caught himself thinking about just giving in and joining them but... there was still his promise holding him back.

To become the best, he had to beat 'that person' and how was he supposed to do that when he was sailing with Luffy somewhere on the Grand Line? Could he even become stronger when he had to protect his friends... his crew?

"_You have to live your own life, Zoro. She wouldn't want you to live in the past..." _

Koshiro's words... Zoro remembered them more and more, lately.

"_Find your own path, Zoro... trust your intuition and you might end up in an unexpected place but still reach your goal in the end."_

Ending up in unexpected places... Zoro was an absolute pro at that.

Frowning as he was suddenly standing in front of a wall, Zoro scratched his head and turned around. Strange... he had been sure that way would lead him to the classrooms.

His next lesson was maths and before now, he had always had a few people accompany him... if not Usopp or Chopper, who hoped he could protect them from Kidd, then one or more captains who couldn't shut up about him joining their crews.

He had about half an hour left before class, but... all these corridors were so damn confusing!

How the hell was he supposed to find anything when the layout of the place kept changing?

Cocking his head as he somehow ended up in another dead-end, Zoro turned around and tried his luck again.

While walking he kept thinking back to the crew and their insane captain.

He did get along well with everyone... even Sanji, as prissy and annoying he could be, had slowly grown on him and ever since the time he had been drunk, Zoro couldn't help but be curious about him.

What Ace had said about Sanji's sexuality... how the cook drank too much even though he knew what Ace would do... strangely enough, it had caught Zoro's interest.

Maybe it was just Ace and Law rubbing off on him, but the reason for him coming out of the bathroom in his birthday suit had been a sort of test. He had wanted to know how Sanji would react and... well, the cook sure had given him a once-over.

Zoro grinned as he remembered Sanji's face from that moment. The wide eyes and blush, he had thought he could hide from Zoro, had been incredible funny! Zoro still couldn't be sure if Sanji was just overly conscious of other men or really had a thing for them, but at least he had found out something interesting: another sure way to annoy the hell out of the blond.

It might not have any valuable effect on his training, but it was a sort of entertainment, Zoro didn't want to miss.

Being completely lost in his thoughts, Zoro frowned as he suddenly realised, he had left the building and was stepping out into the blazing sunlight.

Shielding his eyes, he looked around and recognised the courtyard. Hadn't he been on the third floor before? When the _hell_ had he gone downstairs?

Just when he wanted to turn around and go back into the confusing building, he heard the familiar sound of swords clashing together.

His curiosity peaked, Zoro walked to the dojo where the sound was coming from and looked through a crack in the door. His eyes widened at the sight.

A man stood in the centre of the room, surrounded by the metal training dummies, they often used for practice. Even from a distance, Zoro could see that they were set on the highest fighting level and even though Zoro had beaten one of them easily in practice, he knew it had to be difficult to fight more than three of them at once... and that man was fighting about _fifty_!

A look at the giant black sword on the swordsman's back, told Zoro what he had already expected: he had finally found the man he had been searching for... he had found the best swordsman in the world: Juraquille Mihawk.

Without a second thought, Zoro opened the door.

Right at that moment, nothing could keep him from his duel.

* * *

"You damn bastard! You jerk! Look what you've done!" Chopper pressed out between thick tears as he treated Zoro's wounds: a giant gash on his chest as well as several smaller stabbing wounds.

"Such an idiot! Could have died! Stupid! Stupid!" the reindeer went on and on and Zoro let him.

He felt bad to cause the little guy such distraught but what could he do? Zoro hadn't been able to resist the urge of fighting the best... not when he had been right in front of him and he wanted to fulfil his promise to his friend.

"Stop crying, Chopper. I'm alright, aren't I? Sanji said you're the best doctor in all of All Blue Central... I'm in good hands."

His teary face splitting into a silly grin, Chopper clapped his hooves together and began to make a strange dance. "Shut up! Your compliments don't make me happy at all, you jerk!"

Zoro frowned but didn't say anything. He had already grown accustomed to taking strange behaviour (and even stranger habits) in stride.

Both, reindeer and swordsman jumped as the door slammed open and an annoyed Sanji came in.

"I'm here. Where is that shitty swordsman?" he said as he only saw Chopper while Zoro stayed hidden behind a curtain.

"I'm here, shitcook. Don't scream like that, you idiot," Zoro said. He felt an eyebrow twitching as he talked to the cook... for some reason, he really annoyed him at that moment.

"Shut up, bastard! My Home Economics class was interrupted because of you! Che, I bet you aren't even hurt that badl-" Sanji shut up the very moment he had opened the curtain and was staring at Zoro's chest. "What the fuck is that wound?" he screamed, his eyes wide as they wandered over the stitched up gash that run over Zoro's entire chest.

"Don't worry, Sanji. I've cleaned the wound and stitched him up. The wound would've been fatal if Mihawk had slashed him a bit deeper but it seems like he wanted him to live."

"I... I'm not worried," Sanji said with still wide eyes and Zoro looked away. He felt strangely exposed at that moment. "You said... Mihawk did this? I only heard he had a duel..."

"I challenged him," Zoro said. His eyes were still fixed to the wall. "My dream is to become the greatest swordsman, so I had to fight him."

"You moron! Even an idiot would know that you aren't a match for him! He is a fucking Shichibukai!"

"I still had to fight him."

Chopper looked from one of them to the other and then cleared his throat. "Ehm, Sanji... there is something I wanted to ask you. You're Zoro's roommate, so... could you help him out a bit? There are a few things that will be difficult for him... with that wound and all."

"Help him out? With what?" Sanji asked and then his eyes widened. "Wait a minute... he can still piss on his own, right? No way in hell will I ever touch-"

"No! Not that!" Chopper said after changing into his human form and holding Zoro down who made to strangle the cook at that moment. "Just putting salve on his wounds. He has a few ugly bruises on his back that need to be taken care of. I would come to your room to help you, but I have to help the school nurse out for the next week... it would help me a lot if you could do that."

"... Just putting that stuff on his back?"

"Just his back."

"Nothing... strange? Like washing him, or... or..."

"W-Well, you could help him to bathe, but-"

"NO WAY IN HELL WILL I DO THAT!"

"NO WAY IN HELL WILL I LET THAT PERVERT BATHE ME!"

Sanji and Zoro had cried out together and were now glaring at each other, their eyes blazing fire.

"What did you say, you shitty swordsman? Who is a pervert, huh?"

"The idiot with the curled eyebrow! I bet you can't wait to get your hands on me!"

"Shut up, you bastard! You were the one who climbed into my bed when I was drunk!"

"You held onto me, asshole! I had no choice!"

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that, marimo! I know you want a piece of my ass, you homo!"

"That skinny thing? Don't make me laugh!"

Chopper looked back and forth between him, frowning as they kept saying stranger and stranger things. Humans could be quite silly...

"Um, it was just a suggestion, I-" Chopper began but was soon interrupted by Sanji.

"Who is skinny, you Neanderthal? Not everyone is a damn bull like you, you moss-head!"

"Z-Zoro, Sanji, I really-"

"Che! You're just jealous of my great physique! Bet you would love to look like me... maybe then you'd finally get a chance of getting laid!"

"As if any woman would ever touch a stupid oaf like-"

"WILL YOU SHUT THE HELL UP?" Chopper cried, transforming into his human form again and hitting them on their heads. They fell face first to the ground and it took Chopper a whole of two seconds to realise what he had done. "Oh, no! I've hit an injured person!" he cried out as he held an unconscious Zoro in his arms. "Someone call a doctor!"

* * *

Sanji sighed deeply as hours later, he put the thick, green salve on Zoro's back.

"Oi, what's with the sigh?" Zoro asked, irritatedly.

"I just wish you were a woman... then I wouldn't mind sharing a bed with you, applying lotion to your body, helping you shower..." Sanji replied slowly.

"You're such an idiot... I really don't get your obsession with women."

"Don't tell me you're gay, too."

Zoro snorted. "I just think a man should've better things to do than chasing skirts."

"Are you kidding?" Sanji exclaimed, his hands stopping its movement on Zoro's back. "Women are... women are the best thing in this world! They're like... like... a dazzling light in the dark or... or an oasis in a desert of brute, filthy men! Oh, what would I do if goddesses like Nami-swan or Vivi-chwan weren't wandering upon this Earth... how would I be if-" Sanji's side trip to poetry was raw interrupted by an elbow hitting his stomach. "What the hell, you idiot! That hurts!"

"Then stop blabbering nonsense and go on with the creaming, cook. Do you think I like having your hands all over me while listening to your verbal diarrhoea?"

"You little... I'm doing you a favour here, bastard! I'm not enjoying this any more than you do!"

"Good, because you'll have to help me wash my back as well," Zoro said, smirking. "Wouldn't want to have your hands wandering anywhere..."

"You... you..." Sanji stuttered, staring at the bastard's back. "I would never-... I'm not-..."

"Then get on with it, shitcook. I don't have the whole day."

"You ungrateful, little..." Sanji mumbled as he rubbed the salve not all too gently on Zoro's wounds. "Don't you have any interest in women at all? Not at least a type or something?"

"What do I need a type for?" Zoro asked. "When I fall in love, I fall in love. It's not like I can control it..."

"Then... you never thought of someone: 'I wouldn't mind sheathing my sword into that' or anything?"

Zoro snorted. "Never heard that one before, shitcook."

"Seriously, though. Don't you ever think about sex? Not at all?"

"Why should I do that?" Zoro asked. "Falling in love, that would be something I can't help, but why should I think about sex before that? It's useless, isn't it?"

Sanji stared at the green head in front of him. "H-How can you even say that?" he asked. "And you call yourself a man? Sex is... it's just natural! Don't you have any urges?"

"Trained myself out of them," Zoro replied and Sanji couldn't help but stare open-mouthed at the rare animal in front of him.

He had to be an alien. A green, asexual, bulky alien... from Mars!

Yeah, that sounded about right.

* * *

Meanwhile, Luffy and Usopp stood outside Sanji's and Zoro's room, talking quietly to each other.

"Why don't we go inside, Usopp?" Luffy asked, frowning at his friend. "I need to tell them about Ace's idea"

"I-... I think we should wait a bit longer Luffy... I-It wouldn't be good to interrupt them now..."

"Interrupt? Interrupting wha-"

"_Can't you rub me a bit harder, cook? I barely feel anything..." _came Zoro's voice from the room.

"_Not my fault that an oaf like you needs longer..." _Usopp and Luffy heard Sanji reply.

"_Che... do you know where that other lotion is?"_

"_You mean the slippery one?"_

"_Yeah, we'll need it in a bit..."_

"We definitely can't interrupt!" Usopp cried out, his face pale as he looked at the door.

"Oh, are they playing a game?" Luffy asked, excitedly. "Ace always says stuff like that when he is playing with his friends and I have to leave the room." Luffy frowned. "There isn't a sock on their door, though. Ace said I can't go in when there's a sock on our door... and when it's gone, the game is over."

Usopp stared at him. "Are you really seventeen years old?"

"Sure! Why do you ask?"

"No reason..." Usopp said and then looked at the door again. "We can't go in, though."

Luffy pouted. "But I wanna play too! It sounds like so much fun!"

"_Zoro can't you bend a bit forward? It's hard to reach the right spot this way..."_

"_Better this way? Ngh... not that fast, shitcook. Can't you be a bit gentler?"_

"_Pah, it's not like you can't take it, idiot. Well, this better?"_

"_Mh... yeah."_

"_Good, we... I should be finished in a bit. It would still be better if you were a girl, though."_

"_Shut up! You know you love it, cook."_

"_In your dreams, you shitty bastard."_

"Usopp, why are you hitting the wall with your head?" Luffy asked.

Teary-eyed, Usopp grabbed Luffy's shoulders. "Is everyone in this school gay, Luffy? Everyone?"

Cocking his head, Luffy crossed his arms and crouched his forehead in deep thought. "... Are you gay, Usopp?"

"_Of course not!_" Usopp yelled back and Luffy laughed.

"Shishishi! Nope, not everyone then."

Usopp kept crying for hours.

* * *

Sanji sat on the windowsill, looking at the big gate of their school, his eyes unblinking as he searched for any and all signs of suspicious movement.

He was startled as his door suddenly slammed open and Luffy entered. "Oi! What did I tell you about knocking, idiot? What if I have a woman in here, or-..."

"Shishishi! A woman, that was funny, Sanji!" Luffy said and Sanji's eyebrow twitched. "But did you see? Zoro left the building with his swords!"

"Yeah, and alone again... even though, he is still hurt," Sanji replied. He had seen how Zoro went out about fifteen minutes ago, but knew it was pointless to do anything about it. It was the Heart Pirates' turn to patrol that night and Zoro's pride wouldn't allow him to accept the help, anyway. The marimo had been horrified when Chopper announced he would have to stop training for a while.

"Come on, I wanna follow him," Luffy said giddily, looking out of the window over Sanji.

"Luffy, I think Zoro will be strong enough to-"

"Don't you want to see him fight?" Luffy interrupted him. "And don't say you don't want to! I know you're interested in him!"

"If you're implying the same thing Usopp had claimed for days, then-"

"Naaah," Luffy said. "Zoro is just a great fighter and you love to see him in action! I love it, too!" Luffy grinned. "Zoro will join our crew tonight, Sanji. I can feel it!"

Sanji looked at the excited face of his captain for a while. Strangely enough, Luffy's hunches were usually correct.

"Alright, let's go then. It will be on your head, though! He won't be happy about this..."

* * *

"What the hell are you guys doing here?" Zoro said after he had taken care of the last two pirates and noticed Sanji and Luffy behind him.

"Told you, he wouldn't be happy," Sanji said to Luffy who grinned in return.

"We're just watching, nothing more," Luffy said and sat down on one of the garbage bins at the wall.

"Did Chopper ask you to do this?" Zoro asked, squinting his eyes at them. "He had been on my case for days now!"

"He cares about you. Not his fault that his heart is soft enough to worry about an idiot like you..."

"Oi!"

"Behind you, Zoro," Luffy said and Zoro raised his sword to parry an attack to his back.

The pirate only had time for a short 'eep!' before he was without sword and Zoro knocked him out.

"I knew that one was coming," Zoro declared afterwards.

"Yep, 'course you did!" Luffy replied. "You're a great swordsman, after all."

"I'm not the best..." Zoro said as he took down another two enemies.

"I'm not the best, either. Not yet," Luffy said and grinning, he leaned forward. "But I'll be one day. Become my swordsman, Zoro!"

"I... already refused."

"And I'm asking again. Join us," Luffy said a bit more firmly.

When Zoro stayed quite as he continued to fight approaching pirates, Sanji lit up a cigarette. "Come on, shithead! Just give it up... you've already been caught," he said, blowing out the smoke. "You've felt how strong Mihawk is on your own body... you _know_ it will take you years to reach his level! So, why don't you come with us? Fighting off enemies of the new pirate king... what better way is there to become the best?"

Zoro struck down one last enemy and then turned to look at them. "Che... you guys really are crazy. Let's say, I'm really gonna join your crew... what position am I supposed to take? Swordsmanship is my only ability."

"Shishishishi! Isn't that obvious?" Luffy said, grinning from ear to ear. "I knew it from the start... You're my first mate, Zoro."

Zoro stared at Luffy. "You... you gotta be joking!" he said and then turned his head to Sanji who shrugged.

"No objections from me. As strange as it is, you do look the part..."

Zoro's bewildered expression turned into a frown as he looked back at Luffy who was still grinning. "Welcome to the crew, Zoro," Luffy said and extended his hand.

Koshiro's words rang inside Zoro's ears as he looked at the hand.

_Find your own path, Zoro... live your own life..._

Slowly, he reached out and took the hand that was offered to him.

"Thank you, captain," he said and a new path had opened.

_TBC_

* * *

_So... this one was a bit shorter this time. Did you notice? ;)  
_

_It was more or less a transition chapter but I hope it was fun, anyway.  
_

_Well, if it was or not: please review! It always makes me happy to hear your thoughts!  
_

_Thank you for reading! :)  
_


	5. Chapter 5

_****I won't apologise because that wouldn't make it better, anyway ~_~_

_Some stuff happened and I just barely got the time to write. Future updates will take longer, too, because I'm working full-time now and just don't have as much time for my hobbies._

_Well, I'll try to be quicker, anyway. I just can't promise anything (and shouldn't because I rarely manage to keep my promises)._

_Ah, I'll start working on the prompt stories again, too. I wasn't banned for my porn, so I guess it's okay XD_

_Anyway, enjoy!_

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece.**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

Once the news of Zoro joining the Strawhats had travelled around (which was mostly thanks to the enormous feast they had had that night), all captains at EBU sank into despair... and one in particular was especially devastated.

"You damn bastard, Strawhat!" Law spit out, shaking Luffy who was grinning despite the rough treatment. "How dare you claim that sexy bastard behind my back!"

"Shishishi, sorry, Traffy! But I told you, Zoro is mine."

Law groaned. "You don't even know the meaning of those words, do you?" he said, taking off his hat and running his hands through his black hair. "Zoro seems the loyal type who does _anything_ his captain tells him... we could've had _so_ much fun together!"

At the Strawhats' table, Sanji patted Zoro's shoulder who looked like he was ready to burn. "Regretting your decision yet, marimo?" Sanji asked, but Zoro slapped his hand away.

"Shut up, lovecook. Do I look like I would _ever_ join a pervert like that?"

"Well, you do have a rather loving relationship with your swords..." Sanji replied and laughed as he dodged the blade of Wado.

Oblivious to the flying feet and swords at the Strawhats' table, Bepo came up behind Law.

"Don't be sad, captain," he said, snot running out of his nose as he stared at his superior. "You've got us, don't you?"

Law turned around to look at his crew. Bepo, Penguin, Shachi and Jean grinned happily back at him and Law's face fell.

"Why don't I ever get a hot guy to join me?! Why? _Why?!_" he asked, gritting his teeth as he hammered his fists on the table.

Not sensing the danger in the air, Luffy laughed at the distraught Law. "Shishishishi! You're so funny, Trafal-guy!"

"_TRAFALGAR_, DAMMIT!" Law cried out and tried to hit Luffy with his sheathed sword. Luffy dodged the blow and laughed again.

"Dunno, why you are so mad... I think your crew is cool! Especially Bepo!" he said and turned to the speaking bear. "Bepo, join my crew!"

"Okay," Bepo said before getting hit by Shachi and Penguin.

"Don't agree so easily, dammit!"

Luffy laughed again as he went back to his table.

"Went that well, huh?" Zoro asked, stopping his fight with Sanji for a moment as Luffy sat down, his eyes shifting over to the stone-faced Law who was getting forced into a group hug by his un-sexy crew.

"Traffy will calm down in a bit."

"It's quite a shame, though," Ace said to Zoro from the other side of the table. "I looked forward to seducing you and making you join the Whitebeards!"

Zoro grimaced at the remark. "Che! I'm not weak enough to fall for things like that. Do I look like the idiot cook?"

"What did you say, bastard?"

"You heard me, curly brow!"

And they fought again.

Being used to these quick fights by now, the rest of the crew paid them no mind.

"It would be cool, if Bepo joins our crew too, though... he's a talking bear that can do kung fu..." Luffy said in a half-pout as he watched how Law broke free from his crew and looked ready to snap.

"Don't say that Luffy... we've got Chopper, don't we?" Nami said and hugged the little reindeer next to her.

Chopper tried to squirm out of her hold. "Y-You appreciating me doesn't make me happy at all, you jerk!" he exclaimed before grinning widely.

Luffy suddenly stopped his pouting to stare at Chopper. "Ah, you must learn kung fu, Chopper!"

"He doesn't have to change, Luffy. He is cute-... I mean, he is good as he is right now," Nami said, hugging Chopper even closer to her chest. A few steps away from them, Sanji nearly got his head sliced off as he missed one of Zoro's strikes. He was too busy glaring at Chopper.

"Well, of course he is alright like this. But kung fu is cool, too... right, Chopper?"

As Luffy looked excitedly at him, his eyes sparkling in anticipation, Chopper looked down, hiding his face with his hat. "W-Well... maybe I can try?"

"Hm, it won't make him less 'Chopper', I guess," Nami said.

"Shishishishi! With Usopp's new ammunition, Zoro as our swordsman and first mate and Chopper learning kung fu... we'll be the coolest crew ever!" Luffy said happily, taking down his strawhat to look at it. "I can't wait to see Shanks again."

"Why don't you pay him a visit, Luffy? His headquarters isn't far from here, is it?" Nami asked and Luffy shook his head.

"I can't... not yet," he said. "I promised not to see him until my crew can beat his and we aren't ready yet."

"Yeah, I guess we still need at least one other position to be filled."

Luffy nodded, his expression serious. "We need a musician as fast as possible!"

Nami hit his head. "A shipwright, Luffy! A shipwright comes first!"

* * *

"Isn't Zoro here?" Usopp asked as he tentatively entered Sanji's room a few hours later. Ever since he had overheard Sanji and Zoro's 'conversation', he felt a bit awkward to be in the small room. "I'm... I'm supposed to give him some notes from the classes, he missed."

Sanji looked up from the textbook, he was reading. "The idiot is in the gym again."

"Really? With that wound?" Usopp asked with a frown. "Chopper is going to flip!"

"Yeah... But he has done a good job hiding it so far. Whenever we don't go on patrols, the marimo trains every night until exhaustion. Don't tell Chopper, though. Zoro wouldn't stop it, anyway."

"Did you find out why he is that obsessed with becoming the best swordsman yet?"

Sanji looked at him. He and the other Strawhats had wondered about Zoro's reasons for a while now, but whenever they had attempted to ask him, he had changed the topic with a distant look on his face.

"I... don't think he wants to talk about it, yet. It seems to be pretty hard on him."

Usopp crossed his arms and nodded. "I'm sure he'll tell us once he is ready. The Great Captain Usopp knows when to stand back and wait quietly!" he said. Puffing up his chest, he looked at Sanji with superiority who raised a curled eyebrow in return.

"Well, did the Great Captain Usopp write that essay about the Shandian Wars for dear Robin-chan?"

His eyes bulging out as he stared at Sanji, Usopp began to stutter, "Th-Th-That was for tomorrow?! Oh, shit!" he cried out and ran out of Sanji's room.

Sanji frowned as he looked after him. "That kind of exit becomes a habit, huh?" he mumbled and then went back to reading his book.

* * *

Three hours later, Sanji lay inside his bed, listening to the ticking of the clock on the wall. Sighing, he rolled onto his side as he tried to stop thinking.

Zoro hadn't come back yet and it was well an hour after his usual time. He had been exhausted enough before... so much even, that he had neglected to take out his futon and just passed out on the floor.

Before, this training schedule hadn't been a problem for him, but the wound was still weighing heavily on his body... not surprising, seeing that any _normal_ person wouldn't even be able to walk without help.

Well, and there was the restless sleep, he had been getting. The last few days had been worse than any before.

Zoro had tossed and turned on his futon every night and had often woken up with a gasp before tumbling to the bathroom to get a glass of water.

Sanji had never asked him what he had dreamed about, but anyone could see that there was more behind his sleeping troubles than a missing, warm body next to Zoro.

Sanji strained his ears. The sound of footsteps suddenly pulled him out of his thoughts, his body tensing. He could hear the heavy steps in the corridor until they stopped in front of his door. With a quiet squeak, the door opened and Sanji recognised the sound of swords bumping together as well as the mighty stride that could only belong to Zoro.

More unusual was the harsh breathing Sanji could hear and he wondered whether he should show that he was still awake. What if Zoro wasn't alright? What if the wound had reopened?

But then, a loud clang announced that Zoro dropped his swords on the ground. Just as Sanji wanted to turn around, he felt a weight on his mattress. He froze as Zoro slid under the covers behind him and put his arms around Sanji.

Not sure what to do, Sanji stayed tense until Zoro whispered, "I know that you're awake, shitcook. Just... for today. Only this once, okay? Only this once..."

His voice was accompanied by that harsh breathing and with a deep sigh, Sanji willed his body to relax.

"Fine... only this once," he said as the arms around his waist pulled him closer. "But no touching in questionable places and... and tell anyone about this, marimo, and I'm going to kick your ass back to Mars, got it?"

"No arguments from me," Zoro replied. His voice softened at the end of his sentence and was followed by a light snore.

With another exasperated sigh, Sanji too went to sleep, trying not to let his thoughts linger on the warmth behind him or the smell of a freshly showered Zoro.

* * *

"This area is clear, too," Sanji said as he looked around the narrow alley.

Their patrols had become routine enough by then, that they understood each other perfectly without words. Attacks had been combined, combos were developed in the middle of battle and every enemy trembled in fear when facing their combined power of kicks and slashes.

Sanji and Zoro had built up a perfect team that sent the thugs running upon sight... a fact they both regretted dearly.

Hunting had been much more fun before.

"Seems like not even _one _of those bastards is around, any more," Sanji said, dismayed at the lack of punching dolls.

"Maybe Luffy and Ace got all of them already," Zoro said, shrugging. "Or they're finally out of men."

Turning his head to look into the other direction, Sanji lit up a cigarette. "Yeah, I think I've smelled Firefist's smoke a few minutes ago. Too bad, really. I've been looking forward to the exercise."

"You can always exercise with me, cook," Zoro replied with a smug smirk.

Unimpressed by that, Sanji raised an eyebrow. "And get an earful from Chopper for attacking an injured person? No thanks."

"I'm not weak."

"No one said that. Raw strength is your good point, idiot," Sanji said, blowing out the smoke. "Not fighting an equal opponent when you're injured isn't weakness. It's common sense," Sanji said, not even beginning to hope to get through to him.

One thing he had learned about Zoro by then, was that he hated to be considered weak. Losing and being less capable than his opponents at fighting was something he disliked more than anything else. Not that he was a bad loser or anything. No, as pride as Zoro was, he also knew his own strengths. When Robin had beaten him easily at chess for example, he had had no problem to compliment her. Well, he was also blushing in embarrassment when Luffy had laughed and called him stupid, but nevertheless, he had accepted the loss.

And Sanji found out more and more things about Zoro every day.

"If I didn't know any better, then I would say that you're worried about me, cook," Zoro suddenly said with a strange glint in his eyes. The smirk that accompanied his words more and more these days, turned Sanji's stomach into a strange knot.

"In a million years maybe," he answered slowly. "In a million years."

* * *

Luffy fidgeted on his chair as he sat in front of Iceburg's office. Apparently, the headmaster didn't like it too much when his students used their Devil's Fruit Powers in narrow places... especially not when those places were used to display important rewards in expensive glass cabinets.

Sucks that Luffy had to get the idea for his new Gomu Gomu no Gatling attack in such a place.

"Hope you know better next time than to damage EBU's most important property, Strawhat," Paulie said, crossing his arms as he looked fiercely at Luffy. "Do you know who has to clean up all that crap, hm? You can be glad that I didn't strangle you with my ropes for that!"

"Aww, come on, Paulie... can't you just let me go? I won't do it again, promise!"

"That's what you said when you rampaged in the gym, hallways and kitchen, too."

"Well, I didn't do anything in _those_ places twice, right?" Luffy replied, grinning brightly. "See? I kept my promise!"

Paulie's face twitched. "I swear, that perverted Nami is rubbing off on you. You're on your way to become a con artist."

"Shishishishi!"

"Don't laugh!" Paulie cried out and nearly lost his cigar in the process. "You and your crew will be the end of me one day. Two idiots who fight all day long, a navigator who organises illegal gambling every Saturday and a long nose who keeps setting our curtains on fire... You guys keep me busier than Kidd and Law's crews together!"

Luffy blinked and then said, "Ah, yeah. Nami wanted me to tell you that you've got a... a... 20 percent something now."

"I- Interest? Did she say that?" Paulie asked, his voice suddenly a lot softer as his eyes widened.

"Could be," Luffy replied with a frown. "I never get what she is saying."

"That damn bit-... Argh!" Paulie cried out and then turned his back on Luffy. "Alright, I'll go and find her. You stay here until Iceburg-san comes back, got it?"

"Do I have to?" Luffy asked. He looked pleadingly at Paulie but that guy was having none of that.

"Of course you do! I won't be the one to take the punishment for the mess you make! Stay here!" And with that, Paulie was gone.

Frowning, Luffy continued to fidget on his chair. He stared at Iceburg's door in dismay while he waited for the principal.

The punishment surely couldn't be worse than that 'no-meat-period' when he had just arrived here, could it?

Nah, nothing could be worse than two weeks without meat. Luffy nearly died then.

Well, of course, he had managed to steal some of other people's food now and then, but it was still not nearly enough meat for him. So, what could be worse? Would Iceburg be angry enough to ban meat for _three_ weeks?!

Still pondering that terrifying thought, Luffy nearly missed the woman who came his way.

Nose high in the air, she stalked along, her long skirt showing off her legs at one side while her revealing top left nothing to the imagination. Long, black hair cascaded down her back and her heels clicked on the floor with every pompous step.

Luffy tilted his head as she came to a stop beside him. He had never seen her before. There weren't all that many women at EBU, so he surely would remember her, right?

Not to mention that she seemed really... weird. Looking down at Luffy in a superior fashion, she squinted her eyes at him.

Suddenly, she raised her finger and pointed at him, bowing her head back enough that she looked up at the ceiling.

"You, student! Where is the principal?" she asked but the question sounded more like an order. "I'm here to discuss a ridiculous request of him. Get him here at once!"

Head still tilted at this really, _really_ weird woman, Luffy put out his lips. "Nah, don't wanna."

Three words, but the effect was incredible.

Her finger sinking slowly, she stared at him. Her eyes widened in clear shock as the woman asked with outrage, "What did you say?! How dare you speak to me in that manner!"

"Why wouldn't I? Are you someone important?"

And that was the deathblow.

Her nostrils fluttering, the woman went back a few steps and then held up her hands to form a heart. "Such insolence! There is no man who doesn't recognise my beauty!" she cried out. Her face twisted in anger as she stared Luffy down. "Mero Mero Mellow!"

Curiously, Luffy watched as a beam of strange, pink hearts flew at him. "Is that a magic trick? That's so funny!" he said, laughing as the hearts disappeared into thin air around him. "Sanji can do similar stuff. He is pretty stupid then, though."

Luffy grinned at the woman, who stared back as if he was something unbelievable, something that couldn't possibly exist.

Her eyes were even wider than before and her mouth opened up in shock. "Why didn't you turn to stone?! What's the meaning of this? Speak at once!"

"Turn into stone?" Luffy asked. His forehead was twisted in deep thought. "I can do that?"

"You-!"

"Hancock-sama, what a pleasant surprise!" a voice said behind them and both, Luffy and her, turned their heads to see Iceburg approaching them from the end of the hallway. "What can I do for you?"

Iceburg smiled kindly as his wandered from her to Luffy and back at Hancock again where they stayed.

He wasn't looking into her eyes this time, though.

"That's not important for now!" Hancock said. "Who is that man? Why doesn't he turn into stone when I use my beam?"

"He doesn't?" Iceburg asked. Reluctantly, he looked at Luffy who suddenly had the same expression as he had had when the gym 'mystically exploded'. Well, he wouldn't be sitting in front of his office without reason.

"Say something! Don't you have an explanation for me, Iceburg?" Hancock asked impatiently when he stayed silent.

"Well, considering the nature of your beam... it might be quite simple," Iceburg finally answered. "Watch this."

Carefully, he opened a big, brown bag that was hanging around his arm and then shuffled through it. After a bit, he pulled out a few magazines, opened up one of them and then showed it to Luffy.

"Luffy, what do you think about this?"

Luffy scrunched up his forehead and then laughed. "Those look like those magazines Ace always hides under his bed! He has more with men, though. I always ask him why they're all naked, but he never tells me. He just laughs," Luffy said, putting out his lips in a pout. "Do _you_ know why they aren't dressed?"

Without answering, Iceburg turned to Hancock. "See? He is completely oblivious to all things sexual. Your beam turns anyone with dirty thoughts to stone, doesn't it?"

"But that can't be! There is no such thing as an innocent human being!"

Iceburg shook his head. "I'm sorry, but Luffy doesn't find you sexy, Hancock-sama. That's the only explanation," he said and realised his mistake as soon as the words had left his mouth.

With a poisonous glare, Hancock formed a heart and directed it at Iceburg instead. "Mero Mero Mellow!"

"Woah! He did turn into stone!" Luffy said after Iceburg froze in place. "That's so cool, Hammock."

Hancock's face suddenly felt hot, making her touch her reddened cheeks. "Y-You almost said my name," she said. "What is this... feeling? An illness?"

"Yosh!" Luffy said and holding his strawhat, he jumped up from his seat. "Guess Iceburg won't be punishing me for now. When are you turning him back?" He frowned. "You _can_ turn him back, right?"

"Y-Yes, I can."

"Good. I'll better run before Paulie comes back, though. See ya, Hammock!"

"I-It's Hancock."

"Sure, Hannuck. I'm Monkey D. Luffy, the man who will be the pirate king! Make sure you leave him like this for a bit, so he won't think about my punishment, okay? Thanks!" Luffy said and then went into direction of the dorms.

"Luffy..." Hancock whispered as she looked after him. She touched her chest with both hands as her heart began to speed up. Maybe she should let at least some women of her tribe enter EBU?

Suddenly, Iceburg's idea didn't seem that bad any more.

* * *

A few days later, Chopper inspected Zoro's injuries for one last time.

Chopper's eyes widened as he looked at Zoro's chest. "That's amazing, Zoro! The wound has completely healed... and only in three weeks! With that amount of damage to your tissue, I thought it would take at least six weeks for the wound to close!"

"Don't let it bother you, Chopper," Sanji said from his place in front of the window. "That marimo head is barely normal."

"If you want to pick a fight now..." Zoro said between gritted teeth.

"No! Not here! Not in the infirmary!" Chopper cried out, glaring at Zoro and Sanji. As much as he was able to glare in his normal form, at least.

Zoro and Sanji huffed, crossed their arms and looked the other way. Chopper sighed as he regarded his friends. He thought they would get along a bit better after Zoro had joined the crew but instead, their rivalry just seemed to increase.

"Well, you'll keep the scar on your chest, but other than that, you're completely healthy again," Chopper said and then narrowed his eyes at Zoro. "No thanks to you... I know about your training!"

"Did you rat me out, shitcook?" Zoro asked Sanji who returned his look with a mock hurt expression.

"Me? I would never betray your trust, marimo-chan!"

When Zoro just scowled at him, Sanji sighed and continued, "Paulie noticed your nightly activities, idiot. Instead of dirtying his hands, he decided to tell Chopper. I didn't know that before yesterday, though."

"And you didn't do anything?" Zoro asked Chopper.

The little reindeer looked pained as he avoided Zoro's gaze. "I... wanted to, but Luffy said that the training is important to you and I should leave you alone," he said and then looked so fiercely at Zoro that it surprised him. "Not that I wanted to! That was very reckless of you, Zoro! If the wound had reopened, then you could've died! As a doctor, it would've been my responsibility to-"

"I'm sorry, Chopper," Zoro interrupted him, laying a hand on his hat. "I'll listen to you next time."

Everyone in the room knew that it was a white lie, but Chopper smiled back, anyway.

* * *

Sanji stared as Zoro took off his shirt and revealed the giant scar marking his chest. He had seen it in the infirmary before but had quickly averted his gaze. It seemed quite personal to stare at it. This time, though, he couldn't help it.

The scar ran the entire way from the left side of his chest to the right of his stomach and stopped just before the waistband of his trousers.

Sanji thought it strangely suited him... the scar added to his rough image.

Sanji blushed as Zoro arched an eyebrow and he realised that he had been staring.

"Say, cook... Can I sleep with you again tonight?"

Zoro never saw the kick coming.

* * *

Thanks to Chopper declaring him to be healthy again, Zoro was finally allowed to participate in Combat Class. He had watched the first few times, but when missing out on the action had made Zoro impatient enough to glare at anyone who was allowed to fight (and not a small number of students nearly pissed their pants because of that), Marco had thrown him out. The next few times, Zoro had secretly gone to train on his own and, after passing out several times, Iceburg had instructed him to stay inside his room during Combat Class (poor Paulie had to guard the door).

All in all, it had been a while since Zoro was in Combat Class and even more surprised was he by the strange stares and whispers of his classmates he suddenly got. Frowning at the students around him, Zoro looked down at the scar on his shirtless chest. Were they intimidated by his appearance?

"Didn't you know?" Usopp asked as he noticed Zoo's confusion. "Everyone considers you a Supernova ever since you've fought against Mihawk."

Zoro looked at him in surprise. "That's why they're whispering?" he asked. "But I lost. Dreadfully even... how can I be a Supernova because of that?"

"Are you kidding?" Usopp returned with his mouth opened and eyes widening. "You survived a serious fight against the strongest swordsman of the world! That's more than enough reason!"

"Don't let it get to your head, marimo," Sanji said, slapping Zoro's back as he came up behind him. "It's not like the title actually _means_ anything."

"Said the person who wants to be a Supernova more than any other," Usopp muttered under his breath and then blanched as he noticed Sanji's glare. Whispering some incomprehensible excuse, Usopp hurried away before he could get kicked by the cook.

"Supernova, eh? I knew that you were an attention seeking guy, but wanting a _school title_ like that..." Zoro said. He grinned as Sanji's face flared up in anger.

It was _too_ easy.

"Oh, shut it, marimo! There is nothing wrong with wanting to be acknowledged."

"That's true," Zoro answered before a slight smile appeared on his lips. He took Wado from his haramaki and looked at the white sheath, his smile widening slightly.

Frowning, Sanji looked at the weird expression on Zoro's face. What on earth...?

Suddenly, Zoro looked up again and scowled when he noticed Sanji's stare. "_What?_" he asked.

"I just... Well, the others and I have been wondering why you want to be the best so badly. I mean... is there a special reason, maybe?" Sanji asked and looked at Zoro's sword. "Something that has to do with your katana?"

Zoro frowned and opened his mouth to say something, but then Marco interrupted him, when he told the class to gather around him.

"Some other day, cook," Zoro said and made his way to the others, leaving Sanji alone with his thoughts.

* * *

Drumbeats filled the courtyard as, two hours later, Zoro stepped onto the large place.

A big platform had been placed in the middle and every student of the school gathered around it, staring up at an impressive podium.

Confused, Zoro looked at all the excited faces around him. Twenty minutes before, an announcement had tuned through the speakers in the school, telling the students to immediately gather in the courtyard because the principal had something to say... Something that had surprised everyone because they still thought Iceburg was busy decorating the hallway in front of his office.

Thanks to the whispers and grins all around him, Zoro was sure that everyone else already knew what Iceburg wanted to announce, though. He caught bits and pieces of 'who's the best', 'captains' and 'ship' but before he had been able to ask, the drumbeats suddenly stopped and the crowd parted to Zoro's right to let the principal walk through.

Carrying pet-mouse Tyrannosaurus as always in his breast pocket, Iceburg approached the large platform and climbed up the stairs to stand behind the podium. Only his stiff way of walking still reminded of his time as a stone statue now.

Kalifa was close behind him and took her place next to him. Pushing up her glasses, she looked over the students with sharp interest.

Zoro frowned.

He had seen Kalifa two times so far (when he had first come to the school and later to get his books) and both times, he had been accused of sexual harassment. For what, he had no idea. He had only talked to her, but from the other Strawhats he knew that that was just one of Kalifa's quirks.

"The time has finally come!" Iceburg said into the microphone, his voice being carried over the whole courtyard. "The event everyone of you has looked forward to will start next week."

"Event?" Zoro asked no one in particular. Had he heard about such a thing before?

Iceburg looked over to the drummers and, at a wave of his hand, they started a drum-roll.

"The big crew tournament!"

Among many cheers, Zoro was sure he could hear the 'WOOHOO!' of his captain.

"Be cautious and study a lot, because the tournament won't be easy this year!" Iceburg continued. "Three matches of different kinds will test your abilities and teamwork. Work together and you'll surely win one of the great prizes."

Iceburg snapped his fingers and from behind the platform, four men came carrying a big pile of something covered with a large, red cloth.

"Never before did we have prices such as this. Never before had it been more important to win the tournament," Iceburg said while petting the mouse in his breast pocket. "I present to you the first prize: Adam wood!"

One of the man took off the cloth and revealed a huge pile of wood beneath it.

Zoro frowned as people gasped and whispered around him. All this excitement because of a bit of wood?

"Yes, that's right," Iceburg said, nodding at the crowd. "A few of you will know about this wood's quality. It's the strongest wood in the world and the same kind as the ship of the most famous pirate in the world: Gol D. Roger!"

From somewhere, Zoro heard Luffy's cry of excitement and grinned. He still didn't quite know what was so great about it, but one thing was certain: Their captain would want them to win. No. Matter. What.

"I can hear that you are all eager to start. However, don't forget to concentrate on your studies until the first event. Those of you whose marks drop more than ten percent will receive special lessons and will be forbidden to enter the tournament."

"Eh?!" many people cried out, causing Iceburg to grin.

"We learn from our mistakes, you see?" he said to the outraged crowd. "The first match will be on Monday. The starting time will be announced beforehand. And with that, you're dismissed. Study well, students."

Iceburg left the platform, his every step accompanied by matching drumbeats.

* * *

"Isn't this exciting?!" Usopp asked later as everyone was sitting at their usual table. "Adam wood... totally cool!"

"Is that wood really that great?" Zoro asked him and regretted it immediately as Usopp's expression changed to that of shock.

"Are you kidding?! Haven't you heard about the Oro Jackson? Roger's ship?"

"Can't say I have," Zoro replied.

Usopp stared open-mouthed at him, but Sanji intervened and squeezed his shoulder as he came with a new tablet of snacks to their table. "The marimo doesn't know a lot about pirates, Usopp."

Zoro crossed his arms. "Is that my fault? I never planned to become one, after all. It's all thanks to this guy," he said and pointed at Luffy who showed Chopper a magic trick at that moment: He let meat vanish.

"Woah! So fast!"

"Don't encourage him, Chopper," Sanji said before he grimaced at the way his carefully prepared meal had vanished in an instant.

"Well, if you don't know then I can tell you," Usopp said to Zoro. "The Oro Jackson is rumoured to be the most resilient ship in the world! No one knows where it ended up at when Roger died at the war, but it's rumoured that the rest of his crew has put it on an island somewhere to build a special grave for Roger."

"And no one has found it?"

Usopp shrugged. "Some think that they've put it with the One Piece, but no concrete facts are known."

"The Oro Jackson was completely awesome!" Luffy exclaimed, spitting pieces of meat all over the table. "Shanks told me so much about it!"

"And with that wood you all hope to build a ship similar to that?" Zoro asked with a frown.

Nods all around confirmed his question. "But... who is gonna build it?"

Usopp sighed. "That's the problem. We still need one awesome shipwright."

* * *

"Hurry up, Sanji! English Class is starting in five minutes," Ace said impatiently, tapping his foot as he leaned against the door to Sanji's room.

"Yeah, yeah," Sanji said as he roamed through his cupboard. "Damn it! I can't find it. I've leant my textbook to Usopp, yesterday. Thought he already gave it back, but... Oh, well, I'll just borrow Zoro's for now."

"Won't he need it?" Ace asked.

"Nah, he is attending the captain meeting with Luffy today, remember? They wanted to discuss the tournament. Will probably take the whole day."

"Ah, yes... he is your first mate, eh? Then Law and Bepo won't be there as well. Pity, I wanted to show him my new magazines."

Sanji's ears perked up. "Magazines?" he asked, grinning. "Dirty ones?"

"Yeah, but not the kind you like, I'm afraid," Ace said. He winked at Sanji who grimaced in return.

"Gay porn, huh?"

"Of the best kind, hun. But hurry it up now! We don't have time!"

Sanji shrugged and went over to search through Zoro's stuff as well. The cupboard was a bit too small for the futon and both of their stuff, so Zoro had left most of his things in his large duffel bag.

Hesitating only for a few moments (Zoro did say he didn't want Sanji to touch his bag after all), Sanji tentatively opened the green thing and began to look through the inside.

Frowning, he pushed aside Zoro's clothes. There was nothing unusual or even remotely interesting inside... just the usual clothing Zoro wore. What had he been so afraid about? It couldn't be his underwear, could it?

Still frowning, Sanji found a few books at the side of the bag and after a quick look, he tugged out Zoro's English textbook. Just as he wanted to rush out of the room, however, Sanji's eyes caught something glimmering from under one of Zoro's white shirts.

Curiosity peaked, he removed the shirt and was surprised to find an old, framed photograph.

It showed a young girl, nine or ten years old maybe, with black, short hair grinning up at the camera. Her face was slightly bruised and there was a cut on her cheek, but she looked happy nonetheless as she held up a trophy that looked like two crossed swords.

Sanji frowned. He had never heard Zoro talk about a girl before, only about his sensei. Who was this? Could it be an old photo of his girlfriend? But Zoro had said, he didn't have anyone...

Or was she the reason for his disinterest in relationships? Did something happen to them, or... to her? Why would he have such an old photo, otherwise?

"Sanji, we don't have time!" Ace suddenly said, startling him out of his thoughts and quickly, Sanji hid the photo under Zoro's shirt again.

"I have it, I... I'm coming," he said and quickly, Sanji followed Ace out of the door.

He would ask Zoro later about the girl.

* * *

Even hours later when his lessons were over, Sanji couldn't stop thinking about what he had discovered. He hadn't even been able to concentrate in class... something he had paid dearly for when Robin detected his state of mind.

Now, he was on his way to the teachers' room, his thoughts doing what they wanted as he absent-mindedly wandered through the school.

"Cook-san?"

Surprised, Sanji turned around as the voice of an angel (and sometimes devil) called his name. "Robin-chan!" he said. "Whatever can I do for you?"

"Oh, I just wondered if anything is wrong," Robin replied. "It's not like you to be that... _distracted_ in class. While I would prefer your eyes to stay on the blackboard instead of wandering to intimate places, you at least always followed my lessons... is there something on your mind, cook-san?"

"I... well, I guess I've seen something of Zoro, I shouldn't have," Sanji admitted.

"Something personal?"

"Well, yeah. And now, I'm wondering why... I mean, he has never told me about he-, ehm... _it_," Sanji said. "He has never mentioned it. He doesn't talk about other stuff, too, and now, I'm-"

"You're wondering why he hasn't shared that something with you?" Robin asked.

"Yeah, I guess. We got along lately and I've told him a lot about my past. Not everything, but definitely a few very personal things and... I guess, I'm just a bit disappointed now," Sanji admitted. "Zoro isn't the sort of person who likes to talk about himself and whatever he's hiding is most likely something very important, but... but I hoped we were closer than that now."

When Robin smiled gently at him, Sanji held up his hands. "I-... I mean closer like friends and not... _close_ 'close' you know. What Usopp said is absolute bull-... w-we would never-"

"Oh, I do know your relationship is _still _simply that of friends, cook-san," Robin said, emphasizing the 'still'. "But you do seem to care a lot about swordsman-san. Otherwise, he wouldn't be constantly on your mind and influencing your studies. And the same thing has happened to your cooking before, I assume? I do recall a few meals with burned meat."

Ashamed, Sanji avoided Robin's eyes. " I guess. Well, we are roommates and he is a crewmate now as well, so of course I care. "

"In this case, it's best to talk. Sit down with Zoro-san tonight and ask him about what you've found."

Sanji rubbed his neck. "Will be a wonder if I survive that conversation..."

"Ah... you're admitting that you would lose to him?" Robin asked, her eyes glinting as she saw Sanji's temper flaring up instantly.

"Never! I would never lose to that muscle head!"

"Then you have nothing to fear. I'll be rooting for you, cook-san. See you later," Robin said with a mysterious smile and walked away.

"Yeah, bye... Robin-chan," Sanji whispered quietly.

Feeling a little lost in the hallway after Robin had gone, he needed a moment to remember that he had to ask a teacher about their orders for lunch and continued his way to the teachers' room.

Zoro wouldn't be _that_ angry, would he? Even though, he had told Sanji to keep his hands off his bag, it wasn't as if Sanji had done that on purpose.

And could there really be such a huge secret about this photo? Maybe it was just a childhood friend and the photo hadn't even been the reason for Zoro's secrecy.

"I wouldn't keep pictures of my childhood friend in my bag," Sanji mumbled as he rounded the corner.

Maybe it would be better to keep quiet, after all. But he was so curious and Robin also said he should-

Sanji stopped short as he stood in front of the teachers' room, his hand hovering over the door handle.

Noises were coming out of the room. _Weird_ noises.

"_Haaah... ah... hah... oh... damn... hah..."_

Sanji's face flushed as he recognised those unmistakeable sounds.

"_M-Marco..."_

Normally, Sanji would have turned around at that moment, but he _knew_ that voice. He knew it so well that those sounds of pleasure seemed fake, seemed unreal to him.

"Ace?" Sanji whispered and quickly covered his mouth with his hand.

Not staying even a second longer, he hurried back to his room, all the while thinking that now he had _two_ people, he needed to talk to.

* * *

"I told you, I'm sorry!" Ace said, gesticulating wildly in his desperation to apologise to Sanji.

"You could have said something!" Sanji said as he moved a pan full with vegetables expertly in his hand. "I'm your best friend and yet, you didn't tell me anything about your relationship!"

"Relationships between students and teachers... that's forbidden, Sanji!" Ace said. "I had to promise Marco that I wouldn't tell anyone about this."

"Not even me?" Sanji asked with a frown. "Do you think I would've told someone?"

"No, but... I just didn't want to take any chances."

"Do you like him that much?"

"It's... complicated. I guess you could say that we 'click', but we don't have a relationship. Not really."

"What is it then?" Sanji asked. "Are you two just fucking or what?"

Ace frowned. "Don't call it like that."

"You're always calling it that."

"Yeah, but not in serious conversations. We aren't in a relationship, Sanji, but we also aren't fuck buddies or something," Ace said. "What's up with you, anyway? It's not like you to be that pissed about this stuff."

"I'm just sick of friends hiding things from me," Sanji said irritatedly as he put the pan down and used his biggest knife to cut some meat instead.

Ace flinched as Sanji's knife rushed down on the meat, cutting it easily in half. "Zoro, eh?" he said.

Sanji nearly dropped the knife. "W-What?!"

"You're this upset because of Zoro, aren't you?" Ace asked. "Luffy told me that he wasn't talking about his reasons for training so hard?"

"Yeah, but it's not only that," Sanji said admitted.

"Well, you better sort things out then," Ace said as he turned around. "I'm neither ready to be a punching bag for you, nor do I want you to mess up at dinner, any more. Your food is keeping me alive, you know?"

Sanji grinned as he went back to preparing dinner. Maybe Robin and Ace were right and he really should talk it out with Zoro.

Yeah, he would do it that night.

* * *

"Where is that damn clown? I don't have the whole day!" a voice roared in a large, black room. Two figures were in its centre, one of them pacing back and forth while the other stood completely still and calm.

"Calm down, Krieg. I'm sure Buggy has a good explanation," said the calm figure slowly.

"Do you think I care about that, Alvida?! I have a business to run!" Krieg replied and glared at the smirking woman.

"Speaking of which: I heard your men aren't doing so well?" Alvida asked, the amusement in her voice not being lost to Krieg.

"As if you don't have the same problem, Alvida!" Krieg cried out. "Those damn students... even Firefist Ace had been meddling with us. Our gangs will be completely eradicated if this goes on!"

Alvida chuckled. "Well, that's why we're here. Those kids won't be laughing at us much longer."

"And that's damn time," a voice said from the entrance, causing Alvida and Krieg to turn their heads. "I don't want to be a flashy amusement for those bastards!"

Buggy stepped in, his bright red nose standing out as he grinned at the other pirate captains. Next to him was one of his subordinates, a white-haired man named Moji who seemed to be quite intimidated by Krieg.

"You're late, Buggy," Krieg said as he glared at the newcomers. "We've a serious situation here!"

"Do you think I don't know that? Strawhat is interfering with our business as well," Buggy said as he stopped in front of them, Moji staying a few steps behind him.

"Pah! He has been a pain in the ass even before he went to EBU," Krieg replied. "They are getting noisier every-"

"DON'T MAKE FUN OF MY NOSE, YOU BASTARD!"

"I SAID NOISIER NOT 'NOSE', YOU CLOWN!"

Both men were suddenly inches away from each other, their faces twitching in undisguised anger.

"Please calm down, Captain Buggy!" Moji said as he held back his captain who already had his knives in his hands.

"Now, now. We're all friends here," Alvida said as she stepped between the glaring men and put a hand on each chest to push them apart. "There is quite an easy way to solve all our problems... all we need is to organise our activities."

When they just stared at her, Alvida talked on.

"How about an alliance, gentleman?"

_TBC_

* * *

_Alliances... alliances everywhere! XD_

_Hope is wasn't that bad. The editing was ridiculously hard this time.  
_

_Thanks for reading!  
_


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